Natsu the Dark Wizard
by FairyAlchemist400
Summary: After Levy is given an old spell book and the spell inside is cast. It will drastically change the world of Fairy Tail as Natsu and Zeref switch in a way not expected by the rest of the guild. Lucy is the only one who knows what happened, can she save Natsu? (HIATUS - More info at profile)
1. The Ancient Spell

**A/N FROM THE FUTURE: So, I'm rewriting this story, but I didn't want to delete the old one for the readers who might enjoy the OG version more. The plot points in the new version will be the same, just (hopefully) much better written. The new chapters 1-5 are up as of 5/15/18 (but that may be out of date eventually, if I forget to update this note, just check the latest chapters in the story.)**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first ever fan fiction and I hope you enjoy! Any constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.**

* * *

The Fairy Tail guild was as crazy as usual, Gray was fighting Natsu, and Erza's attempt to stay out of the fight was about to come to an end, now that she had been hit in the face by a table. Just as she stood up, Levy, Jet, and Droy, busted through the doors of the guild hall.

"Guys! Look what I got from my last job!" Levy said, excitedly.

She, practically, slammed a large, dusty, old book down on the table. Natsu, and the gang, stopped what they were doing and gathered around the table.

"It's a book." Natsu said, plainly.

"No duh it's a book Natsu!" Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "So," She said, turning her attention back to Levy. "what's it about?"

"That's the thing!" Levy yelled, with enthusiasm. "I haven't even opened it yet!"

"Then why'd you call us over here?" Gray questioned.

Levy opened the book and flipped through it. "I wanted to do it with you guys!"

"That's so sweet!" Erza smiled, happily.

"Huh?!" Lucy gasped, as Levy continued to go through the book. "It's only a quarter full!"

"That's a little disappointing, isn't it?" Happy asked, sighing.

Levy kept looking through the book. "You know, according to my old employer, this book was written by an ancient wizard who was attacked and had the book stolen, while they were still writing it! So, they were never able to finish. They didn't even sign their name on the book!"

"Then how did they know it was written by an ancient wizard?" asked Erza.

"The one who stole the book, and attacked the wizard, gave it to his kid, and they gave it to their kid and so on. The man I got it from, my old employer, is actually his descendant, but he didn't have any children. So, when he found out I love books, he gave it to me, along with my payment, from the job!"

Levy, promptly, put on her wind reader glasses and began tearing away reading.

"So, what does it say?" Lucy asked, curiously.

"Well it appears to be a spell." Levy said.

"Wait really?! That's a long spell…" Natsu said, trailing off.

"So anyway, what can it do?" Erza inquired.

"I think it's some sort of teleportation spell." Levy said, slowly. "It is in our language, but it's written very strangely; old is, actually, a better term. It says here that it can switch places with anyone of your choosing!"

A devilish grin spread across Natsu and Happy's faces. "That would be such an awesome prank!"

"Don't be stupid!" Lucy hollered.

Ignoring them, Levy continued. "The spell seems to be finished, but the rules and notes for the spell were left unwritten."

"So, what does that mean?" asked Gajeel.

"It means," Levy said "that the effects of the spell are unknown. It doesn't say what the range of the spell is, how you choose who to switch with, or anything else."

"That is important." Erza stated

Natsu picked up the book. "I still think it would be an awesome prank!" He said, grinning.

Lucy snatched the book out of his hands. "Were you even listening?!" She shouted.

"Yeah…" Natsu grumbled.

"Hey, Levy?" Lucy asked. "If all the inputs aren't in place would the spell even work, if you read it out loud?"

"Hmm..." Levy said, "I don't really know, that would be the default assumption, though."

"Why don't we try reading it out loud?" Lucy suggested, looking over the book.

"I don't know..."Levy muttered, nervously.

"Lucy's gonna prank herself~!" Natsu sang, smirking.

"Well then you read it!" Lucy huffed, in annoyance. She shoved the book into his hands.

"Mmm...Fine." Natsu grumbled. "Lets see...Here it is, I think. Switched with anyn' ye shall be...fren or foe, it shall not matter, for ye shall learn from them as ye switch thy place."

"That sounded really stupid." Gray chuckled.

"Shut-" Natsu was cut off.

Natsu stood in a dark, void-like space.

"Hello?" Natsu, asked. His voice echoed around him.

A man clothed in black appeared before him.

"Who are you?" Natsu questioned.

The man gasped and tears began to form, falling down his cheeks.

"What the hell?!" Natsu yelled, feeling a form of horrified disgust.

"You've grown so much…Natsu..." The man said.

Natsu ran at him at full force, on impulse, but the man continued speaking.

"Why did it have to be you, of all people, to activate that spell?"

Tears continued to stream down the man's face even after natsu hit him full force.

"I hope you will be able to forgive me, Natsu…"

A brilliant white light began to fill the void.

"What's going on?!" Natsu howled.

Just before they were both enveloped by the light, the man uttered, "Goodbye for now, Natsu..."

* * *

UPDATE (from the future!): Do not worry, any new readers, the chapters will get longer over time. To any old readers, you are not crazy, I did in fact change the chapter a little and I will be doing that to the rest of them (to help me sleep at night, because reading my older writing hurts...it hurts so bad. Though, I'm sure I couldn't fix everything...unfortunately. So, please point out any grammar mistakes to me, if you see them! Thanks!)


	2. Gone

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._**

 ** _A/N: I am in school, but I will try to post every day. Thank you so much for reading!_**

 **Chapter 2**

gone

A lukewarm wind blew across the island as birds squawked loudly, overhead.

Natsu opened his eyes. He felt bark against his back; He was lying against a tree, on a hillside.

"Where am I?" He asked, groggily.

"Oh yeah! Where is that asshole in the black clothes!? I'm going to pound his face in!"

Natsu stood up and started marching down the hillside. However, he, unluckily, tripped over his clothes and was now rolling down the hill. He eventually slammed into tree at the bottom.

"Aughhh." Natsu said, dizzily. "What the hell?!"

Natsu then took a moment to look at his clothes. They weren't his that was for sure, they didn't suit him at all. They were all black, with yellowish gold highlights, and were partially covered by a large white cloth. The last thing Natsu noticed was a silver locket, hanging around his neck.

He would have taken the clothes off, but he didn't think he had anything else to wear.

Natsu took the locket off. _I guess I'll see what's inside._

With a snap the locket opened.

Natsu was shocked. Inside, there was a picture of a much younger version of himself and standing right next to him was a little black haired and black eyed boy who looked very familiar. It took Natsu a minute of thought, before he could figure it out.

"Wait a second! That kid looks like the guy from earlier!" Natsu said, triumphantly.

 _How did he know who I was though? And why does he have a picture of us in a locket?_

The questions ate away at him, but he couldn't figure it out. Giving up, he decided to put the locket back around his neck, as it seemed important. After that, he stood up.

 _Now_ , _where the heck am I?!_

.

.

.

Back at the guild, Natsu had vanished, but instead a man, who looked similar to him, stood in Natsu's clothing.

"Well that was a dud." Happy said, sadly. "Me and Zeref could have pulled some awesome pranks."

"Well it didn't seem complete now did it. It wasn't exactly a wise idea to go casting random ancient spells. You all know where that has gotten us before!" Erza said, scornfully.

" _You_ didn't try and stop us." Happy muttered, mutinously.

"Wait!" Lucy said, startled. "Did you just say _Zeref!_ As in the _Dark Wizard Zeref?!_ "

"What are you talking about?" An unfamiliar voice said.

Lucy snapped towards the sound, in shock.

A man with smooth, ink black hair, and eyes, stood staring at her. A confused look written on his face. Other than that, he looked, pretty much, the same as Natsu; he even had

the same guild mark.

"Who are you?" Lucy demanded, as she glared at him.

"It's me Zeref, duh." The man said, with a hint of confusion.

"She's finally lost it!" Happy announced.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Levy asked, with worry.

Lucy continued to glare as nervous sweat rolled down her face. Zeref's own concern now began to change to horror.

"Lucy, do you seriously not remember me?" Zeref asked, anxiously.

"Why would I remember someone I've never met?! And why are the rest of you so calm about this?!" Lucy demanded, her worry beginning to leak into her voice.

"Never met...?" Zeref echoed.

"Lucy what do you mean? What are we calm about?" Erza asked, cautiously.

"About Natsu disappearing! And about Zeref, of all people, wearing _his_ clothes and donning _his_ guild mark!"

"Natsu?!" Everyone shouted, in unison.

At first Lucy sighed in relief, until she heard what came next.

"As in the _Dark Wizard Natsu_?!" Gray shouted, mimicking Lucy's earlier statement.

Horror crashed over Lucy and she fell to her knees.

"Wha...What do you mean?" Lucy asked, trembling.

Everyone looked at each other, concerned.

"Lucy?" Happy asked.

Zeref reached down to touch her, but she swatted his hand away, violently. Zeref flinched.

"Get away from me!" She shrieked, as tears rolled down her face.

"How could you all just forget Natsu?!" She cried. "I'm sure he's out there, confused and worried, and you don't even _remember_ him?!"

Everyone stared at Lucy in horror. What had happened to her? Just a minute ago, she had been happily chatting with all of them.

"The spell must have affected Lucy somehow." Levy said, worried about her friend.

"It didn't!" Lucy cried, "You guys don't remember Natsu, but I do and I _will_ find him!" She shouted, with determination. Lucy stood up and began walking, steadily, towards the

exit.

"Someone stop her!" Shouted Levy.

"Don't even think about it!" Lucy shouted. "I will find Natsu! And if I can't find him he will find us!"

With that, she marched out the door and out of sight; she left everyone speechless with the horror and confusion of what had just transpired.


	3. A Memory

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters (I wish I did though)._**

 **Chapter 3**

A Memory

A man sat, alone, in a forest. He was writing a book, that may have been able to save him.

 _Almost done._ He smiled.

It was quiet, but he began to feel a faint magical energy. Not all that worried, he ignored it and continued writing for a while, until he heard a rustle.

"Who's there?" The man called. No response.

Swiftly, another man sprang out, from behind some bushes.

"Wait-" Was all the first man could utter, before the new man knocked him out, with sleeping magic.

The man, a wizard, searched the other for any valuables, finding only a book and a silver locket _._ The wizard opened the locket and inside was a picture of two boys. He put the locket back, but took the book. Although the wizard wasn't all that morally grounded, he had family of his own and knew how important it was, so he couldn't bring himself to take the locket.

After the wizard had left his victim, he eventually realized the book was only one harboring an incomplete spell, so it could not be sold. So, he cut his losses and kept it as a family heirloom.

.

.

.

Natsu was walking through the woods when he finally realized something very important to him was missing.

"Wait! Where the heck is my scarf?!" Natsu shouted, frantically. "My other clothes disappeared too, is it with them? Is it back at the guild?"

 _The guild…_ Natsu though. His face scrunched up in worry. _I hope Fairy Tail isn't too concerned. What if something happened to them? I'm sure they're fine._

With that last thought a surging, pounding pain engulfed Natsu's body.

"Aaaauuuuughhh!" Natsu screeched, as he stumbled backward and fell, holding his head.

Black magic started pulsing from his body and the pain intensified, until the magic finally released, in a large black wave. Natsu laid on the ground, looking up at the sky. _What was that?_

After a couple more minutes on the ground, Natsu stood up. All the pain was gone, which was strange, for something that intense. He looked around and saw everything was dead; not one thing left in the immediate area was alive.

"What the hell?" Natsu whispered, nervously.

A lone girl watched him from the trees, her eyes filled with sorrow, in a state of incertitude.

"Did I do that?" Natsu whispered again.

The girl didn't know whether or not she should reveal herself.

"I have to find my friends." Natsu said, but, now, unsure that he actually should.

With that last statement the girl made her decision.

"Hello." The girl said in a timid, but friendly voice.

Natsu whipped his head around he couldn't seem to actually see or hear the girl, but strangely he knew there was a girl that had long pale blonde hair and deep, emerald eyes. Her voice sounded sweet like candy. Natsu seemed to imagine her speaking and, as much as he hated to admit it, this frightened him, but just a little.

"Who are you?" Natsu demanded.

"My name is Mavis Vermillion."

 _I'm sure I've heard that name before._ Natsu thought, cursing his forgetfulness.

"Where are we?" Natsu asked.

"This is Tenrou island." Mavis said, with a sad smile.

"No way!" Natsu said, his eyes brightening. "Luck is on my side! My friends will be coming here pretty soon!"

Mavis stared, with wide eyes.

"Wait!" Natsu shouted. That means I won't be able to participate in the S-Class trial! Dammit!" '

"Which friends?" Mavis asked.

"Oh!" Natsu said, now smiling. "The Fairy Tail guild! All of them are coming to Tenrou island for the S-Class trial. It's in about a week, I think!"

"Fairy Tail?!" Mavis asked, shocked.

"Yeah! Something wrong?" Natsu asked, tilting his head.

A cold wind blew across the island, as Mavis gazed at him, woefully.

.

.

.

Back in Magnolia, Lucy had begun trying to figure out a way to find Natsu. She walked to all the local hot spots for guild gossip and listened around.

"Did you guys hear about the S-Class trial for Fairy Tail! It's happening pretty soon!"

Lucy had already heard about the S-Class trial from Master Makarov. So, that wasn't useful, but what she heard next caught her attention.

"Yep! Grimoire Heart is going to find the Dark Wizard Natsu on Tenrou island!" A man said, a little too loudly for the topic.

"No way!" Another replied, disbelievingly.

"Yeah. Heard it from a friend, who has a buddy in the guild!" The man confirmed, smugly.

"That's insane!" The other replied.

 _Yes! A lead! But how do I get there?_

Lucy had to think up a plan.

 _Fairy Tail is going to Tenrou island for the S-Class trial. Maybe I could be someone's partner! Or if that doesn't work, I can sneak onto the ship!_

The sun was already setting and Lucy started walking home, with a grin on her face, as she was proud of her plan. Then, she bumped into Cana.


	4. Magic

_Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters._

Chapter 4

 **Magic**

On Tenrou island a serious discussion was about to take place.

"You can't be in Fairy Tail." Mavis said almost a whisper.

"Why?" Natsu asked. "I even a guild mark to prove it."

Natsu slid down his clothes on his right shoulder, but…

There wasn't a guild mark.

"What?" Natsu asked now more confused, shocked and worried than ever.

"Like I said," Mavis said still talking quietly, "You can't be in Fairy Tail, because only people with the guild mark can see me, you are just sensing my presence."

 _She can't be serious. I'm still a part of Fairy Tail aren't I?_ Natsu thought still disbelieving.

Mavis felt bad for Natsu, it was clear something was wrong with his memories, because he didn't remember her and he thought that he was in Fairy Tail, her guild.

 _I guess i'm technically not a Fairy Tail member,_ Natsu thought sadly, _but I still count myself as one and when I get back I'll put another mark right where my old one was._ Natsu thought, regaining some of his spirit. "Wait a second." Natsu said just realizing something, "Why can only Fairy Tail members see you?"

"Because I am the apparition of Fairy Tail's first master." Mavis said calmly.

"No way!" Natsu said.

 _Well I guess that makes sense since we are on Tenrou island._

Remembering his missing guild mark Natsu wondered out loud, "I hope they are coming soon."

Mavis only watched in sadness.

* * *

 **In Magnolia:**

Lucy had found a very drunken Cana and Lucy decided to go to her own house with Cana.

Once they were inside Lucy asked, "Are you okay Cana?"

Although Lucy was upset that no one could remember Natsu that didn't mean she didn't care about her friends in the guild.

"I'm seriously thinking about quitting the guild." Cana said seriously.

"What?! Why?!" Lucy asked startled, "You can't! The guild wouldn't be the same without you!"

Cana delve into her story as Lucy sat beside her.

A while later,

"I swear that I will help you win the S-Class trial!" Lucy said determined. _I can look for Natsu at the same time._

"Thank you Lucy." Cana said thankfully.

 _Now, we wait._ Lucy thought

* * *

 **Back on Tenrou Island:**

Ever since Natsu woke up on the island he had been experiencing the painful bursts of Life killing magic and he referred to them 'as having an episode'.

He experienced them when ever he thought about his friends' well being. So as hard as it was he tried not to think about it.

Natsu's eyes blinked open after a nice nap, but something was amiss.

He was cold.

 _There's no way that I could be cold!_ Natsu thought, _I'm a freaking FIRE dragon slayer._

Now that Natsu thought about it he hadn't used any of his magic since he got here.

"Okay, I guess I'll warm myself up then." Natsu said.

He tried to summon fire with his fist, but nothing happened.

 _Huh?_ Natsu thought. He tried again, but to no avail.

"Why won't my magic work?!" Natsu shouted.

Natsu felt the first master's presence behind him.

"Mavis?" Natsu asked. It was hard to tell if she was there since he could not see or technically hear her.

"Yes." She replied.

"Do you know why I can't use my magic?" Natsu asked.

Mavis thought about this for a bit. Supposing what Natsu said was true, and that he was once a member of Fairy Tail, his memory may have switched with the original Natsu. Or perhaps something else entirely?

"If what you say is true perhaps you have someone else's magic abilities inside you. That may be making it hard to control the magic you claim you have." Mavis said carefully.

"How can I control my magic again?" Natsu asked.

"Why don't you start by gaining control of the magic you have now." Mavis suggested.

"You mean the episodes I keep having?" Natsu asked confused.

"No. That spell, Death Predation, cannot be controlled unless you forget the value of life." Mavis said sadly.

"Huh?" Natsu said confused.

"Nevermind. I meant the magic abilities you have, you have almost every dark magic ability there is."

"Dark magic?" Natsu asked, confused.

"Yes, for example you should be able to disappear and reappear in another location."

"No way! That's awesome!" Natsu said excitedly, "How do I do it?"

"Unfortunately," Mavis said shaking her head, "I myself do not know how to do it. I have only seen it before. You must figure it out yourself."

"Hmm…" Said Natus thinking, "I guess I'll just have to try random stuff until I get it.

At first Natsu tried voice commands like, "teleport! And Vanish!" But nothing worked.

"I'm going to try and clear my head." Said Natsu as he headed into the woods.

About thirty minutes had passed when Natsu heard the roar of a creature.

Natsu turned his head and looked in the direction of the roar. He could see a very large creature steadily coming towards him.

He was ready to take it on until he remembered, _My Magic isn't working yet…_

He ran.

*ROOOOAAARRRRRRR!* A loud roar filled Natsu's ears as the creature closed the distance between them.

 _I wish I was back at the clearing where Mavis was. I wish I was there!_ Natsu pictured the flat open grassy patch of land he had been on earlier. It had smelled of lavender and pine trees and the tall grass had a strange musky smell to it.

The smell and noises of the creature had vanished and a quiet calm washed over him. He flopped down as the scents of lavender, pine and musky grass filled his nostrils.

Natsu opened his eyes. He was back in the clearing he had just imagined!

"I DID IT!" Natsu shouted triumphantly! "Now I'm one step closer to getting my magic back!"

Mavis just watched, with a sad smile on her face.

 **End of chapter 4**

 _N/A: I know I haven't talked about Zeref much, so I'll get into that in the next chapter :)_

 _Thanks for reading!_


	5. Zeref and Lucy

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters. (Sadly)

Chapter 5

 **Zeref and Lucy**

 **Zeref and Happy's house:**

"You gonna be okay Zeref?" Happy asked, worried and sad.

"I think so." Zeref responded, still shocked about the other day.

Lucy had always been one of his best friends ever since he got her into Fairy Tail. _So what happened?_ Zeref thought sadly.

"I think it might have had something to do with the spell." Happy said thoughtfully. "She started acting weird right after we used it."  
"You're probably right happy, but how do we fix it if we don't know where she is?" Zeref asked.

"It's morning dummy, she's probably in her apartment." Happy replied.

"Oh ya! I'm going to go talk to her." Zeref said jumping off his bed.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Maybe I should do it." Happy said quietly.

Zeref remembered yesterday and agreed, "Ya.." He said sadly, "But I'm going to stay near by."

"Okay." Said Happy.

Happy and Zeref set off to Lucy's apartment.

"Alright, we're finally here." Happy said as he flew up to the window and opened it while Zeref waited on the ground.

Cana had left last night so she wasn't in Lucy's apartment anymore.

Happy decided to shake Lucy lightly to wake her up.

"Natsu… don't break into my house…" Lucy mumbled.

Happy was heartbroken and angry at this Natsu person. _Was this his doing? Or the spell's?_ Happy thought.

Happy shook Lucy a little harder and she opened her eyes.

"Happy!" Lucy cried as she saw him. She grabbed him and Happy was squashed into a giant hug.

"Luc-y. I can't b-reath." Happy said suffocating.

"I'm sorry Happy I just really missed you." Lucy said smiling.

Even though Lucy knew that he didn't remember Natsu she still missed Happy and all her other friends. After her outburst yesterday she had time to reflect about it and felt really sorry, because it wasn't their fault they couldn't remember Natsu.

"Lucy," Happy said slowly, "I wanted to talk about this.. Natsu guy."

"Oh." She replied sadly, "Okay." Maybe Happy would remember something if she talked about Natsu...

Well he usually wears what Zeref was wearing yesterday. Their faces are pretty similar too, but Natsu has pink hair that stands up all spiky and black and olive eyes. His skin is also slightly tanned and he is pretty muscular." Lucy said thoughtfully.  
"What's his personality like?" Happy asked.

"Well Natsu is pretty impulsive, reckless, carefree and sometimes stupid… well actually most of the time." She recalled fondly, "But he always pulls through in a bad situation. Oh and he loves fighting, He and Gray are always going at it and during battles and his plans are well… well at least they work, most of the time."

"What magic does he use?" Happy asked, nodding.

"Fire dragon slayer Magic, he was raised by the Fire dragon King Igneel." Lucy said.

"That isn't possible!" Happy said in shock, "Zeref was raised by Igneel and he has Fire dragon slayer magic!"

"Really?!" Said Lucy surprised. _I guess that should have been expected as he seemed to have taken Natsu's place._ Lucy thought.

A moment of silence washed over the apartment.

"Lucy…" Happy started sadly, "Do you really not remember Zeref? He was the one who brought you to Fairy Tail."

"Happy, I'm sorry, but Natsu was the one who brought me to Fairy Tail, not Zeref." Lucy said.

Zeref sat outside the apartment building, now in anguish after hearing Lucy say that. A wave of anger washed over Zeref. _Whoever or whatever changed Lucy's memory like this was going to get the beating of a lifetime!_

 **Back on Tenrou Island:**

It had been a couple of days since Natsu had figured out teleportation and he was already controlling it well enough to use a little dragon slayer magic, but the Death Predation magic outbursts or 'episodes' hadn't stopped.

"Hey Mavis," Natsu asked into the quiet, "I just realized…"

"What is it Natsu?" Mavis asked.

"I haven't eaten anything since I got here, but I haven't been that hungry. Do you know why?"

"Yes, but it's a heavy truth." Mavis said with a empathetic smile.

"Lay it on me." Natsu said.

"You have the curse of contradiction." Mavis said.

"The curse of what?" Natsu asked confused.

"The curse of contradiction," Mavis repeated, "The curse makes you an unaging immortal.

"That's a curse?" Natsu questioned.

"Yes, because besides that you will kill everything around you whether you want to or not."

"What?" natsu asked now very concerned.

"The life killing outbursts you have are caused by that curse. And the only way to stop these outbursts is to forget the value of life and then you might still kill because you won't care." Mavis said seriously.

"N-no.." Natsu whispered.

"Unfortunately yes. You will kill everything around you whether you choose to or not." Mavis said sadly.

"I wouldn't hurt my friends!" Natsu shouted desperately.

Pain the engulfed Natsu as the Death Predation spell took effect and Natsu clutched his head.

"No. I won't hurt them!" Natsu screamed in pain!

"Why do you think you are alone on an island Natsu?" Mavis asked Sadly.

 _Maybe they shouldn't come. I could hurt them. They should stay away from me._ Natsu thought panicking as the episode began to stop.

"Please don't let them come here Mavis! I don't want to hurt them!" Natsu shouted desperately.

 _Why didn't I think about this the first time I had an episode?!_ Natsu screamed inside his head.

"I will have to hide while they are here. As much as I want to see them I'd rather have them be safe…" Natsu said, this words full of loneliness.

 _It's like watching what I went through all over again._ Mavis thought, almost ready to cry.

"I'm sorry Natsu!" Mavis burst out!

"It's not your fault.. I was the one who read that spell." Natsu said quietly.

"Spell?" Mavis asked.

"Didn't I tell you about it?" Natsu asked, "I read an incomplete spell, met this guy and then appeared here."

"Do you remember what the spell was about!?" Mavis asked frantically.

"I think it was something to do with switching places with someone, but we didn't know what the effects of the spell were." Natsu said trying to remember the details.

 _Maybe what Natsu said was the truth all along!_ Mavis thought as her eyes widened.

"Natsu," Mavis started, "Supposing your story is true. If you switched places with someone and became the dark wizard, wouldn't it be safe to assume that same person took your place in the guild!?"

Natsu's eyes widened with this new knowledge and a light bulb went off in his head.

"Zeref!" Natsu shouted! "I've switched places with dark wizard Zeref!"


	6. Tenrou Island Trial

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 _Notes: Sorry I haven't posted this weekend. I've had a pretty busy time. If I can post another one today I will! Hope you enjoy!_

 **In magnolia:**

It had been a week since Natsu's disappearance and it was almost time for the S-Class trial.

Lucy and Cana were at the port waiting for the other contestants.

"You ready Cana?" Lucy asked. Cana nodded her head in reply.

 _Natsu… I'm coming for you whether you remember me or not!_ Lucy thought determinedly.

 **On Tenrou Island:**

Natsu trudged along through the island's forests, depressed.

 _I'm going to miss them…_ Natsu thought, _but I'm dangerous now and I might hurt or even kill them without my own consent… At least the the first master is here. If I was going to stay on this island completely alone I might go crazy. I wonder if Zeref ever talked with Mavis?_

Natsu still found it hard to believe he had switched places with the most horrifying and evil wizard in the world. What was Zeref doing on Tenrou island in the first place? Did Fairy Tail even remember him? Had Happy and Lucy forgotten him? What connection did Zeref and himself have? Zeref obviously knew him, there was a picture of them both in the locket Zeref wore for crying out loud. All these questions plagued Natsu's mind as he continued looking for a place to set up a base.

A little while later...

Natsu looked around and saw that up ahead sat a cave big enough for about two or 3 people to fit inside. Lush moss and vines grew around the cave's entrance making the cave hard to notice so it would be harder for Natsu to be found.

 _I guess I could stay here until the trial is over..._ Natsu thought sighing. _I really wanted to be in the trial too… But the Guild's safety comes first…_

Natsu laid down in a pile of moss in the cave and yawned falling into a sleep full of dreams and memories.

A voice called out to Natsu… "Natsu! Hey, Natsu!"

"Mavis?" Natsu asked groggily.

"Fairy Tail just arrived on the island." Mavis said, "Hey you're crying!"

A tear rolled down Natsu's cheek, "Really?" Natsu said wiping it away, "I wonder what I was dreaming about…"

"You know you could always just watch them, your friends. You don't have to participate." Mavis suggested. "Come on Natsu, as long as you keep a distance I'm sure they'll be safe."

"I guess." Natsu said standing up, "Besides," Natsu said remembering his scarf. "If that Zeref guy has the scarf Igneel gave me, I want it back!" Determination filled up inside him. "Alright! Let's go Mavis!"

"Okay!" Mavis smiled, "I lead you there."

 **On tenrou at the start of the trial:**

"We really were last off the boat.." Said Cana

"That's okay! They say luck comes to those leftover!" Lucy said determined.

 _Even if what those guys said in the bar wasn't true I'll still help Cana become S-Class!_

"I guess we have to go in route C." Cana said.

Cana and Lucy walked into a cave bright with spirit light bugs.

"Oh no!" Lucy said seeing the banner stating their route. "A battle!"

"It's Bickslow and Freed!" Shouted Cana, "Whatever! Let's do this!" She said determined.

"Can you put on some clothes first, you're only wearing bathing suits!" Freed said blushing.

"Nah they're better this way." Said Bickslow

"Hmm, if that's the case! Sexy lady card!" Shouted Cana grinning.

"What is this!" Shouted Freed blushing harder than ever.

"So he is weak to women!" Cana said triumphantly.

"Open gate of the maiden Virgo!" Lucy shouted as a dancing, bikini clad, Virgo appeared.

Bickslow's babies whacked Virgo over in the middle of her weird dance.

"So weak!" Lucy shouted.

"Why did you call that thing out!?" Cana shouted.

"I just thought a woman would be best!" Lucy apologized.

Bickslow's babies rapidly attacked Lucy and Cana.

"I won't lose here!" Shouted Cana, "The prayer's fountain!"

"Water!" Shouted Lucy.

"No Lucy! This water is for attacking! It's dangerous!" Warned Cana.

"It's alright! Open gate of the water bearer, Aquarius!" Shouted Lucy.

"RUUAAAAAAAHHH!" Aquarius shouted as she washed Bickslow and Freed away.

"Yes! We did it!" Shouted Lucy and Cana as they high fived.

"Come on Happy! I bet Erza is around here somewhere!" Shouted Zeref.

"Hey a pathway opened up!" Said Happy, "Hey someone's here!"

The person begun to walk into light.

"Glidarts!" Happy and Zeref shouted.

"It's over." Said Happy, scared.

"Heh heh." Grinned Zeref. "This is even better than finding Erza."

Zeref looked around, preparing a strategy in mere seconds. He charged forward.

"Hold on!" Gildarts shouted! But Zeref kept going and pivoted left then kicking off the ground faster than a bullet.

"Zeref!" Happy shouted.

Gildarts stopped Zeref with his hand and shot off an explosion.

"I thought I said I wasn't good at holding back." Said Gildarts.

"Zeref's been blown to pieces!" Shouted Happy.

"No I haven't!" Yelled Zeref as he attacked from above.

Zeref and Gildarts continued to spar.

"Fire dragon iron fist!" Zeref shouted.

Gildarts broke apart Zeref's magic, but it kept going and broke him apart as well.

"Zeref!" Happy said crying.

"Don't worry he's not dead, it wasn't that kind of magic." Gildarts said, "Look."

A bunch of little Zerefs fell from the sky.

"It's a bunch of Tiny Zerefs!" Shouted Happy.

"You'll go back to normal in a little bit, but I guess it's the end of the line for you, Zeref." Gildharts said.

"Now hold on a minute!" Shouted a bunch of the little Zeref's. "We haven't given up yet!"

"We'll attack from the back while you guys get the front." Shouted some of the mini Zeref's. "Get him!"

Glidarts swatted them away, but some others jumped on his face and burned him.

"So annoying!" Shouted gildarts, "Back to normal!"

"Now's my chance!" Shouted Zeref, "Crimson Lotus" Exploding Flame Blade!"

A giant explosion ensued, but Gildarts stood unharmed.

"That didn't do anything?!" Happy shouted.

"It did!" Shouted Zeref grinning. "Look I pushed him back!"

"I understand your power Zeref and normally as a test supervisor I would let you pass, but…"

"Screw that!" Shouted Zeref, "There's no point in becoming an S-Class mage unless I beat you!"

"That's what I thought you'd say and that is why…" Gildarts said, "I will not go easy on you!"

Gildarts began to release a large amount of magic energy.

"There is something left for you to acquire in order to reach the top of the magic world. Know it." Gildarts said as more and more magic energy filled the air.

"I can still-" Zeref begun to say as he stood up ready to fight, but he stopped. Gildarts's magic energy was too strong. Zeref fell to his knees "I.. accept defeat…" Zeref said shaking.

"Wonderful," Said Glidarts, "I will not blame you for being brave and standing up to me, but those with the courage to re-sheath their blades are exceptionally rare. "Fear" is not evil. It is to know your own weakness. If you know your weakness, people can become strong and gentle. That's what's necessary to become an S-Class wizard. Now you know. You pass."

And so… An important Lesson Natsu would have learned he now never will. Time is continuing to tick forward as Natsu plans stays still in one place all for the sake of his friends.


	7. My Scarf

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 _Notes: I had time today to make this second chapter! :D_

Chapter 7

 **My Scarf**

Natsu followed behind Mavis as she led him towards his friends.

"I can smell them!" Shouted Natsu.

"Shhhh!" Said Mavis, "They'll hear you!"

"Whoops." Natsu said.

Natsu walked towards the group of Fairy Tail members, upwind, so that if Gajeel and Wendy were there they wouldn't smell him.

 _Now, let's see who passed._ Thought Natsu. _Let's see… Happy! And wait who is that with him?_

Natsu stared at the black haired boy sitting in the corner. _Is that Zeref?! It has to be!_

Natsu saw that Zeref was wearing the scarf Igneel had given him. _As soon as he's alone I'm getting that scarf!_ Natsu thought determinedly. _Okay who else is paired up. Loki and… Gray!? This is soo not cool! He can't become S-Class before me! I guess I'll…I'll... just.. watch._ Natsu looked sadly at his rival. _I can't forget that after this, I'm not going back with them..._ Natsu sighed. _Okay, who else made it? Gajeel and Levy? That's a weird match… Who else? Elfman and Evergreen? Another weird match… I wonder why those two chose each other._

 _Anyway, who's left? I see Cana and… Lucy..._

Natsu looked fondly at his teammate. _I think she is one of the people I'll miss the most…_

A shiver passed down Lucy's spine. It felt like someone was watching her!

Lucy whipped her head around and swore she saw someone duck behind a tree in the distance.

"Cana!" Lucy said worried, "I think something's watching us!"

"You're probably just imagining it Lucy, that or it's just some wild animal." Said Cana brushing it off.

 _Wait!_ A lightbulb went off in Lucy's head. _What if that's Natsu?!_

Without thinking Lucy called out, "NATSU!?" No reply.

Everyone including the Master and Zeref turned and stared at Lucy.

 _So she still thinks that she know's The Dark Wizard Natsu. Troubling…_ Thought Makarov.

Levy had already explained in full detail to Makarov what had transpired earlier that week.

Happy and Zeref look sadly at Lucy. While the others tried to laugh it off.

Embarrassed Lucy just looked at her feet.

"Well on that note, let's start the second Trial." Said Makarov, "You all have six hours to find Mavis's grave, where I'll be waiting. You can start as soon as I'm completely out of sight."

"Let's do this!" Said Gray.

Natsu decided to follow Zeref. He wanted to see if Zeref had his own memories or not and get his scarf back. Mavis decided to follow Natsu.

"That was a close one back there, Natsu." Mavis said, "That blond girl almost saw you."

"Ya," said Natsu, "And by the way her name is Lucy."

As they were walking a drop of sweat rolled down Natsu's face, "Mavis… I lost them…"

Mavis sighed.

"I'll look this way," said Natsu, "Can you look that way and tell me if you find them?"

"Okay." Mavis said.

 _Having my magic all mixed up sucks!_ Thought Natsu. _I could barely smell the teams earlier until we were pretty close._

Lost in thought about how stupid his situation was, Natsu walked through some bushes only to stumble upon Evergreen and Elfman.

"Oh no." Natsu turned to leave.

"Who are you?" Said Elfman

"Only people from our guild can enter here." Continued Evergreen.

Natsu's blood ran cold.

"You don't remember me at all?" Natsu asked.

"Who are you!?" Repeated Elfman as he began to run at Natsu.

"NO! Stay away!" Natsu shouted, "I'm not safe!"

Elfman stopped. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll go! Just don't come near me!" Natsu said. _Did I really just say that?_ Natsu thought in disbelief. _I never thought that I would be a danger to my friends…_

"What's with this guy?" Questioned Evergreen.

"Is it really okay to let him off like that? Asked Elfman.

Natsu's head began to hurt.

"Oh no." Natsu said, "The death predation magic is coming…"

"What?" Said Evergreen.

"YOU HAVE TO GET AWAY!" Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs. The wave began expanding rapidly.

"Get down!" Zeref shouted as he pushed Elfman and Evergreen down from behind.

Natsu steadied himself and looked at Zeref.

"Who are you?!" Shouted Zeref

"My scarf." Natsu whispered angrily.

"Zeref why are you here?" Asked Evergreen.

"Don't surprise me like that." Said Elfman.

"Zerrreeef!" Happy called out, "What's going on all the sudden?! Weren't we going to go to the top?!"

 _This is too much…_ Thought Natsu as he saw Happy. _I'll get the scarf and then get out of here._

"I don't really know what's going on, but I got a really creepy feeling." Said Zeref.

"Wh.. What is this?" Said Happy.

"The trees in the whole area…" Said Evergreen.

"...Have withered." Finished Elfman.

"His magic did this?" Happy asked. _Not even Happy remembers me..._ Natsu said filling with sadness.

"He doesn't seem to be your run-of-the-mill mage." Evergreen said nervously.

"Don't try and get in the way of our exam!" Shouted Zeref, "I don't know who you are, but this is our guild's island!"  
"I know… I'll just take the scarf and go…" Natsu said.

"What?!" Zeref shouted holding his scarf tightly.

Natsu teleported beside Zeref and ripped the scarf off of him.

"What the…?" Said Zeref.

Natsu teleported back to his original position.

"Give that back!" Happy and Zeref shouted in unison.

"No it's mine." Said Natsu, "I'll be going now."

"Oh no you won't!" Shouted Zeref as he began to charge at Natsu.

"Good bye Happy, I'll miss you…" Were the last words Natsu spoke before teleporting away.

 _A/N: For everyone's information I changed the rating of this series from K+ to T just in case I go a little crazy with blood or death or something. I'm strange... XD_


	8. Continuous Battles

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters_

 _Note: I DON'T WANT TO WRITE THE FIGHTS! DOES ANYONE REALLY JUST WANT TO READ FIGHTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SEEN IN FAIRY TAIL?! I'll give you guys the page number so you can read it (just pretend Natsu is Zeref idk because it's really boring to write…) :p Also I'm only putting in the fights having to do with Zeref, Lucy or Natsu._

 **Chapter 8**

 **Continuous Battles**

 **Somewhere near Tenrou island...**

"We finally found him," Said a woman, "It seems that he was sleeping though. Looks like the time has come, Master Hades."

"That man… Alighted on an ancient land, mastered black magic, Gave birth to tens of thousands of demons, and then threw the world into chaos. He's the strongest and most evil man in all the history of the magic world… The Dark Wizard Natsu." Spoke Master Hades, "Let us begin, Grimoire Heart, set route to Fairy Island."

 **On Tenrou Island:**

Lucy and Cana sat together pondering about where mavis's grave might be.

"Figure anything out?" Cana asked.

"No, how could I without any hints?" Lucy sighed.

"Maybe that's it." Said Cana.

"What?" Said Lucy confused.

"I've done this exam 4 times, so it's just a hunch, but I have a feeling there hasn't been a single irrational test in it." Cana explained.

"I see." Said Lucy.

"Perhaps it's some kind of word puzzle." Said Cana.

"Wait… That's it! I've figured it out!" Shouted Lucy, "Come with me!"

"Ohh! I knew you could do it!" Said Cana happily.

Meanwhile Gray and Loki followed closely behind and Grimoire Heart began to strike down upon the members of Fairy Tail.

[Zeref (Natsu) vs Zancrow chp. 218]

Natsu wandered through the forest clutching his scarf. He had lost Mavis, was forgotten by his guildmates, and was now the worst wizard alive.

 _I'm sick of this already. Being by myself is hard._ Natsu thought.

A female member of grimoire heart walked through the forest searching for the dark wizard Natsu.

"That was far… The path to Natsu… was too far for me, but today my dream will finally come true. Once I have my hands on Natsu… I will be saved."

The female heard rustling and turned her head. Up ahead a pink haired wizard in a black clothes with a white sash and scarf walked past. She could practically feel the black magic pulsing from him.

Tears began to fill her eyes.

"Natsu… NATSU!" She said as she sprinted towards him.

 _After searching for so long… Natsu is finally… right before my eyes._

Natsu turned his head in shock.

"Who are you?!" Natsu shouted. "I'm Ultear." The female said as she got closer. "Stay away! I'm dangerous!" He shouted.

Natsu tried to run, weak from the teleporting he did.

"Wait!" The Ultear shouted. Natsu didn't respond.

 _I have no other option, I'm sorry. I'll have to knock you out, Natsu._

"Flash Forward!" Ultear shouted.

Ultear used Flash Forward on Natsu. A spell that sends multiple copies her orb multiple times. All these orbs represent the "future possibilities" of her orb's path, compress all their futures, and redirects them all at her opponent.

Natsu was hit in the head and passed out.

"You may be a legendary dark wizard," Said Ultear, "but you're nothing in your "sleeping state."

Ultear started shaking with laughter.

"I GOT HIM! I GOT NATSU!"

Ultear heald Natsu to her chest.

"Natsu… you're mine now. I won't hand you over to anyone. I'm going to make you king of this world. For the sake of the ultimate magic world..."

Elsewhere the Grimoire Heart members began attacking the Fairy Tail members.

Zeref could smell something.

"That guy on Galuna Island!" Zeref shouted, "He's close!"

 **Meanwhile...Lucy, Gray, and Cana were gathered on the island...**

"We need to split up to find the seven kin of purgatory." Cana said, "Loki took out Zoldeo so we should take out some others."

"Fine." Gray said.

"Be careful Gray." Said Lucy.

 _ **Zeref was tracking down that guy from Galuna Island...**_

"This way!" Zeref shouted, "I can smell him!"

"Wait Zeref!" Yelled Happy.

Zeref slipped, "Ngaah!" He rolled down the hill side and slammed right into front of Natsu.

"It's him!" Zeref shouted.

"Zeref the ground!" Happy warned.

A giant tree grew right beside him.

"There was a little sprout there. I just led it to the future with time arc. Where will your future go, Zeref Dragneel." Ultear said.

"I can smell it you're that one guy!" Said Zeref.

"The one who used Leone's group on Galuna Island?" Happy asked.

"So you're a crossdresser?" Asked Zeref

"This is my true form the other was merely a disguise." Ultear explained. "I am the leader of the seven kin of purgatory, Ultear Milkovich."

"Oh." Zeref said satisfied with the answer.

"Don't tell me you're after Natsu as well?" Ultear said.

"This guy's Natsu?!" Zeref shouted.

"I'm not going to let you have him though." Ultear said. "He's mine."

"I don't want him I just want my scarf back!" Zeref shouted. "He stole it from me!"

[Ultear vs Zeref (Natsu) Chp. 225]

Cana and Lucy walked side by side threw the forest.

"You said you know where Mavis's grave is, right Lucy?" Cana asked.

"Ya, but I only half-know." Lucy replied. "First of all grave made me imagine different things. Death, sleep, dirt, rock, star, and end, but none of them have six letters."

"Wait! Why does there have to be six letters?!" Cana asked.

"The time limit... We have to find the grave within six hours." Lucy explained. "It may seem a bit forced, but I did find one word that fits with both six and grave. Demise, that comes from grave and has six letters."

Cana stared surprised.

"It's still just a hunch, but I think there are some un-needed letters within here. The only letter that appears twice is the letter 'e.' Isn't that suspicious?" Lucy said.

"e." Cana said.

"Remember how our paths were lined up by letters?" Lucy asked. "There was an e path..." Lucy's words faded as she passed out.

Cana stood above her, "Thank's Lucy and sorry."

Lucy awoke, a giant foot above her head…

"Hm?" Lucy said opening her eyes.

"Take this!" A large man shouted.

"GYAAHH!" Lucy screamed.

"Wh...what's going on?! Who are you?!" Lucy shouted. _Could he be one of the seven kin?!_

"Huh? Where's Cana? What happened to Cana?!" Lucy questioned.

"I'm Kain and have no idea where your friend is, but it doesn't really matter because you're going to die here anyway." Kain replied.

[Lucy vs Kain Chp. 226]

"IRON GET SMASHHHHED!"

"GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" Zeref shouted as he kicked Kain in the face.

Lucy stared in shock.

"Lucy!? What are you doing here!?" Zeref shouted.

"Getting chased." Lucy replied.

In the corner of her eye Lucy saw something. She turned her head, it was Natsu.

 _N/A: This took 1000000 years to write. I'm working on the next chapter as you speak. I will write my own fights, but rewriting long fights is REALLY BORING. You don't even know unless you've done it._


	9. Anguish

_A/N: I've been procrastinating so much on this. I have school tomorrow so I couldn't keep going, but I decided to post this short chapter in the meantime (Cause it's better than nothing?)._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 **Chapter 9**

Anguish

 **Lucy had just found Zeref about to fight Ultear when, out of the corner of her eye she saw Natsu laying against a tree and she ran directly to him.**

 _It's Natsu…_ Lucy thought shocked with happiness.

"Natsu! It's me Lucy!" Lucy shouted as she sprinted over to him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shouted Ultear as she charged at Lucy.

Zeref attacked Ultear, "Leave Lucy alone!" And Ultear went flying backwards.

"Natsu," Lucy said frantically as she put her hand to his cheek, "Wake up. It's me Lucy!"

Lucy shook him gently, "Natsu please wake up!"

Natsu was still out cold.

"Umm... " Lucy said frantically, "There's food um… There's a big feast!" Lucy said, fruitlessly.

Lucy tried her last resort.

While slapping Natsu back and forth across the face Lucy shouted, "Wake *slap* up *slap* right *slap* NOW!"

Finally, with red cheeks, Natsu began to stir. "Lucy?" Natsu almost whispered.

Tears fell from Lucy's eyes. "Ya Natsu it's me." Lucy embraced him.

Natsu sat there in the warmth of her hug until he realized the danger she was in and quickly pushed Lucy off of him, "You have to get back I'm dangerous!" Natsu shouted frantically.

Zeref and Ultear watched this scene in shock.

"Natsu," Lucy said, "I know you would never harm me."

"It's not my choice!" Natsu cried out.

Inside Natsu's feelings were conflicted. He was overjoyed that Lucy remembered him, but at the same time he knew that if Lucy had forgotten him she wouldn't be putting herself in danger.

Natsu glared at Zeref, "While I don't like you… Please make sure Lucy stays safe."

"I always will." Zeref nodded, returning the glare.

Natsu began to vanish when Lucy grabbed onto him.

Happy gasped.

"What… WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Ultear screeched.

"Lucy!" Zeref called out, but they were long gone.

Natsu and Lucy stood atop the Tenrou tree on the highest branches.

"Why did you follow me…" Natsu whispered.

"Because I miss you! The guild isn't the same without you! Come back home!" Lucy pleaded.

"The thing is Lucy…" Natsu said sadly, "I'm not a member of Fairy Tail."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy demanded.

"I don't have the emblem anymore." Natsu explained as he exposed his blank shoulder.

"So?!" Lucy said, "Just get a new one! You know, I think you are trying to get me to leave, but it won't work Natsu! Even if you run away I'll find you!"

The anguish in Natsu made his throat ache from holding back his tears.

"Lucy…" Natsu begged, "Please I'm not safe…"

A sharp pain struck Natsu, "HURRY!" he shouted, "GET AWAY!"

Natsu stumbled many feet backwards across a branch, almost falling, as the pain got worse, but Lucy stood still.

"Move NOW!" Natsu shouted. Lucy began to run away from Natsu, but soon realized how high up she was and yelped.

"This isn't the ti-" Natsu was interrupted by pain as the wave of death predation came.

It barely missed Lucy by a hair. Everything in between Natsu and Lucy was dead.

"I told you." Natsu panted.

Lucy was scared, but she pushed her fear away and steadily walked toward Natsu.

"No, stop!" Natsu shouted. But Lucy didn't stop she walked all the way up to him and hugged him.

Lucy smiled, "You've saved me so many times Natsu. Now it's my turn to save you."


	10. Success

_Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters_

 **Chapter 10**

Success

 **Atop the Tenrou tree...**

Natsu was scared, scared that he would hurt Lucy… and he was shaking as Lucy embraced him.

"Natsu we just have to reverse the spell. It's that simple." Lucy said calmly.

Natsu just nodded slowly.

"You can teleport… correct?" Lucy said, unsure.

"Yes…" Natsu said.

"Then could you get us back to magnolia?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know." Natsu said.

Just then Lucy remembered Cana. _I hope she is okay, but Natsu is in a much worse situation. I'll tell the others once we get back to magnolia._

"Can you try?" Lucy asked.

Natsu nodded.

Natsu pictured the guild in his mind. The sounds of his friends, the wooden smell of the building, he pictured all of it as Lucy clung to him.

Natsu put all of his magic into these thoughts and then… They were there, right outside the guild.

"I did it…" Natsu said as he collapsed from exhaustion.

Lucy caught Natsu as he fell to the ground. "He feels a lot lighter." Lucy felt his arm. It didn't have the usual thickness to it, his muscles were smaller. _I guess Zeref didn't do physical training..._

Lucy sighed as she opened the doors to the guild to carry Natsu inside.

Although it was quite rare, Gildarts was inside as he had come back to the guild after Zeref fought him.

"Hey Lucy," Gildarts said, "wait… What are you doing here?" Gildarts's eyes landed on Natsu.

"Who's that?" Gildarts asked.

"He's…" Lucy paused, she didn't think they would let him stay if she told them his name, "... A friend."

Gildarts raised an eyebrow.

"Could you help me?" Lucy asked.

"... Fine." Gildarts said dismissing the dark feeling he had.

Gildarts carried Natsu to the infirmary in Fairy Tail.

"He doesn't look hurt." Gildarts commented.

"He just tired." Lucy said.

Gildarts looked to Natsu's scarf.

"Isn't that Zeref's?" Gildarts questioned.

"N..No it's not." Lucy stammered. She hadn't realized earlier that Zeref didn't have the scarf anymore, but Natsu did. _He must have taken it back._ Lucy concluded.

Gildarts shook his head, "I must be going crazy…"

Just the out of the window they saw a flare shoot up from the sea, it was Fairy Tail's flare saying that they were under attack.

"Shit." Said Gildarts as he stood up.

"Wait!" Lucy said suddenly remembering Cana, "When you get to the island make sure you talk to Cana. She has something very important to tell you and press her to say it, if she still doesn't listen tell her I told you to ask her. Understand?"

"Okay?" Gildarts said, confused, "Wait, aren't you coming with?"

Lucy shook her head and looked at Natsu warmly, "No, I shouldn't."

"Suit yourself." Gildarts said, shrugging his shoulders as he left.

Lucy pulled up a chair to Natsu's bed and laid her head down next to him. Ever so slowly Lucy was beginning to nod off when she heard a sniffle, Lucy looked up at as the sound seemed to come from Natsu only to see him crying in his sleep. A tear rolled down his, now, red cheeks. Lucy gasped _I don't think I've ever seen Natsu cry…_

Lucy adjusted herself so she could put her head on Natsu's chest and whispered, "I won't let anything happen to you." Before drifting off.

Natsu's eyes flickered open, "where am I?" he yawned. Almost a second later Natsu realized Lucy was lying on top of him. Immediately, he panicked. Natsu looked around the room and teleported to the wall as farthest from Lucy.

Of course this woke Lucy up. As her fell to the bed her eyes opened, startle she realized Natsu was no longer there so she frantically called out as her eyes searched the room, "Natsu!"

Her search, however, shortly came to an end when she saw him practically glued to the wall, like he was some kind of bug clinging for dear life.

Lucy started laughing while trying to hide it with her hands. Natsu blushed and relaxed a little.

Once Lucy calmed herself she asked, "Why are you so sure I'll be hurt by you?"  
Natsu looked at the floor, "Because I don't have control over a lot of my magic right now…"

Lucy nodded in understanding and then suggested, "How about whenever you feel an attack coming on you teleport away?"

"I've never tried that before, but I seem to have a better ability to teleport now so next time I have an episode or attack or whatever I'l try and teleport out of the area. You still have to run away to make sure you stay safe, got it?" Natsu asked still quite close to the wall.

"I understand." Lucy said with full seriousness.

Natsu sighed.

Bisca opened the door to the infirmary, quietly, "Hey Lucy… I was wondering if you're okay."

Lucy turned her head to face Bisca, "Thanks, but I'm okay." She said this with a smile to reinforce her point.

Bisca's eyes moved to the wall where Natsu was pointed at him, "Who's that?"

Natsu shifted uncomfortably, it was strange not being by known by everyone you know.

"He's a friend." Lucy said.

Bisca looked at Lucy unbelievingly. "Why aren't you at the S-Class trial with Cana and the others?"

"I-" Lucy cut herself off and sighed.

"Luce it's fine." Natsu said turning to Bisca.

 _Did.. He just call me Luce?_ Thought Lucy, blushing.

"I'm Natsu, Lucy found me on the island." Natsu explained.

"Wait! Lucy you mean what you said was true?!" Bisca asked, shocked.

"Yes," Lucy nodded, "I heard a rumor that Grimoire Heart would be looking for him there."

"And you just left everyone there!?" Bisca shouted, "And brought the dark wizard here!?"

Natsu winced.

"We know that they will be fine, they're members of Fairy Tail and Natsu wouldn't ever hurt Fairy Tail." Lucy said looking at Natsu warmly, but with worry in her eyes.

Natsu now looked very unsettled by the fact that they weren't fighting with the guild and Lucy noticed this.

"Natsu, Gildarts went after them, I think with some others, while you were asleep." Said Lucy trying to comfort him, but she too felt guilty.

Natsu sighed, "I can't really fight now anyway…"

 _He cares about Fairy Tail?_ Bisca thought. She saw how upset they were beginning to look and sighed, "You're already here there isn't anything you can really do… Would you two like something to eat?"  
"Yes please!" Natsu answered eagerly. He had been so busy he had forgotten about food. He didn't need to eat so it wasn't a priority at the time.

"Sure." Said Lucy.

As Bisca left the room she said, "I'll tell the others about Natsu."

"Okay!" Lucy shouted after her.

Natsu flopped down on the bed closest to the wall.

"Hey um… Natsu… why did you call me Luce?" Lucy said quietly.

Natsu blushed, "Sorry I just thought it sounded nice…"

"N.. No it's fine! ...I like it…" Lucy said as her face turned red.

Natsu grinned at Lucy.

A slight headache began for Natsu and his face fell.

"Lucy… I think an attack is coming on I'm gonna-" Natsu was cut off by his head pounding heavily. Then… he vanished.

"Natsu?!" Lucy shouted, but then she remembered what they had planned.

About a minute or two later Natsu reappeared in the room.

"Lucy! I did it!" Natsu said as he ran over to Lucy.

Without waiting a second, Lucy tackled Natsu in a hug and then warmly said, "I'm so glad."

 _A/N: I know these chapters take way too long sometimes, but I have school…. yay..._


	11. Revealed

_A/N: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters, but I wish I was!_

 **Chapter 11**

Revealed

 _A slight headache began for Natsu and his face fell._

 _"Lucy… I think an attack is coming on I'm gonna-" Natsu was cut off by his head pounding heavily. Then… he vanished._

 _"Natsu?!" Lucy shouted, but then she remembered what they had planned._

 _About a minute or two later Natsu reappeared in the room._

 _"Lucy! I did it!" Natsu said as he ran over to Lucy._

 _Without waiting a second, Lucy tackled Natsu in a hug and then warmly said, "I'm so glad."_

* * *

 **It had been 3 days since Lucy and Natsu had come back to the guild and their guildmates were a little wary, but they eventually warmed up to Natsu. However people were becoming worried about the Tenrou team.**

While Bisca enjoyed seeing Lucy so happy she was still skeptical of Natsu, he's the dark wizard so it was natural. She was sure that the scarf he wore was Zeref's and he would also frequently vanish and reappear, which made her suspicious. So Bisca was determined to eventually find out what he was doing.

Romeo ran over to his father, "Hey Dad! When are Zeref and the others going to come back?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry Romeo." Macao replied sadly.

"It's been three days Dad they said it would only take one!" Romeo cried.

Jet spoke up, "Droy and I are worried about Levy too. Why don't we just take a ship to the island and check on them?"

"Yeah!" Agreed Droy.

Bisca stood up, "Alright I don't think it'll be too much trouble anyway."

Alzack nodded in agreement.

Lucy walked into the guild hall with Natsu trailing close behind her, as they had begun staying at Lucy's apartment instead of the infirmary.

Natsu was wearing Zeref's clothing still, but he lost the boots for sandals as well as the white sash, because his scarf blended in with it too much.

Romeo's eyes lit up and he ran over to Natsu, "Hi Natsu!" He reminded Romeo of Zeref.

Natsu grinned, "Hi Romeo."

"Hey what are you guys talking about?" Lucy asked.

"The Tenrou team." Bisca said, turning to face Lucy.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"All the people at Tenrou Island." Bisca clarified, "They haven't come back yet."

Lucy looked at the floor in shame, "I should have been with them…" She mumbled.

"Ah! No Lucy it's okay I'm not blaming you!" Bisca said trying to make her feel better, "We were just thinking about sending a boat out to look for them!"

Lucy lit up, "That's a great idea."

Natsu gulped.

Lucy's face lit up with realization, "Oh Natsu! Do you want to stay here?"

Natsu shook his head, "No, I'll go. It's finding them is more important than me feeling sick."

Lucy smiled.

 _He really seems to care…_ Thought Bisca.

"Do you guys wanna go now then?" Bisca asked.

"Sure!" Lucy smiled.

"Ya let's go find Levy!" Jet and Droy shouted in unison.

"Can I go to dad? Please!" Romeo begged.

"Sure Romeo." Macao smiled.

"Guess I'm coming too." Wakaba said.

"Does anyone else want to come?" Bisca shouted.

Alzack walked into the guild hall carrying a bag of food for the guild's kitchen, "I'm back Bisca!"

Bisca ran over to Alzack, "Oh! Alzack we we're just about to go look for the Tenrou team. You're going to come with right?"

Alzack set down the bag, "Uh… sure Bisca." He said blushing.

"Alright!" Bisca smiled.

Alzack's face turned red and he turned away.

"Um is anyone else coming?" Lucy spoke up.

"I'll come." Reedus said.

"I'll go, but I think Max, Warren, and Laki are on a job." Nab said while dancing.

"Okay let's go!" Lucy said.

* * *

 **A couple of hours later on the boat...**

Natsu had been running all around the boat with excitement for the last 5 minutes as he barely felt sick at all. However something was beginning to plague him.

Lucy giggled as she watched him.

"Hey Lucy," Bisca started, "Why is he so excited?"

"Natsu usually gets really bad motion sickness, but I guess it isn't bothering him." Lucy explained, "Though that's kind of strange."

"Ah." Bisca said, "So like Zeref?"

Lucy's face darkened, "Ya…"

Natsu ran over to Lucy a worried look in his eyes, "Hey Luce!"

Lucy blushed, "Ya Natsu?"

"Why do you think… I'm not getting sick?" Natsu asked.

"Is not getting sick a problem?" Lucy chuckled not picking up on his concern.

"No, but I… I haven't been able to use my dragon slayer magic very much ever since I switched with Zeref…" Natsu said.

Lucy gasped, "I thought it was weird that you hadn't used it since I met up with you!"

While everyone else wasn't paying attention Bisca silently listened in with a serious look.

 _Is he manipulating us? Or… is he telling the truth?_ Bisca thought.

"Hey Bisca you okay?" Alzack asked worriedly.

Bisca snapped out of her thoughts, "Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine."

At the front of the boat about 30 minutes later...

"Hey Dad!" Romeo shouted, "There's a bunch of ships up ahead!"

"What!?" Macao shouted.

"Everyone!" Wakaba, "Come here and look at this!"

Everyone on the ship ran over.

"Those…" Droy started, "Those are counsil ships and they're headed this way."

"Head towards the nearest ship!" Bisca ordered.

"Got it!" Wakaba said.

As they got closer Bisca shouted out, "What's going on?!"

The front counsel ship moved closer to the Fairy Tail ship and this ship specific counsel ship just happened to be the one Doranbolt was on.

Doranbolt flinched at the sight of a Fairy Tail ship.

Lahar put a hand on Doranbolt's shoulder.

"Hey!" Bisca shouted, while waving from the Fairy Tail ship.

Lahar walked to the railing of the ship, "Hello!" He shouted, "Come closer so we can board and talk!"

"Got it!" Bisca shouted, "You hear that guys?"

Macao nodded and began to get the ship over towards the Counsel ship.

...Lahar walked onto the Fairy Tail ship.

"I hate to be the barer of bad news, but we have nothing good to say." Lahar said.

"What's wrong?" Lucy said.

"Do you all see Tenrou island?" Lahar asked.

Everyone looked around. "Well… no?" Lucy said confused.

"We're actually very close to where Tenrou island used to be…" Lahar said.

"Wait… Used to be…?" Lucy asked trembling.

Fear filled Natsu's eyes, "Where are they!?" He demanded.

"We stayed here a while to look for them, but I'm sorry…the island was obliterated by the dragon of chaos, Acnologia." Lahar said sadly.

 _A/N: Am I a mean person ending it right here?_


	12. Hurting

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 **Chapter 12**

Hurting

 _...Lahar walked onto the Fairy Tail ship._

" _I hate to be the barer of bad news, but we have nothing good to say." Lahar said._

" _What's wrong?" Lucy said._

" _Do you all see Tenrou island?" Lahar asked._

 _Everyone looked around. "Well… no?" Lucy said confused._

" _We're actually very close to where Tenrou island used to be…" Lahar said._

" _Wait… Used to be…?" Lucy asked trembling._

 _Fear filled Natsu's eyes, "Where are they!?" He demanded._

" _We stayed here a while to look for them, but I'm sorry…the island was obliterated by the dragon of chaos, Acnologia." Lahar said sadly._

Storm clouds began to gather above the ships.

Natsu punched the closest thing to him which happened to be the mast.

"Fuck!" Natsu screamed, "I should have been there to protect them!"

Lucy grabbed Natsu to pull him back, "Natsu stop! You'll break the boat!" But in reality Lucy knew he must have been too weak at the moment to do so.

"We have to find them! They aren't dead we can find them!" Natsu screamed as he struggled to get out of Lucy's grip.

"Natsu stop!" Lucy sobbed.

Natsu turned his head and saw that Lucy was crying.

"Lucy…" Natsu said.

"You're not the only one who left Natsu!" Lucy shouted while, sobbing, "It's not all your fault."

"Lucy I'm…" Natsu's words faded as Lucy spoke again.

"I know they aren't dead. They can't be dead!" Lucy said in desperation, "We'll find them Natsu! But please… don't do anything reckless, I don't want you to disappear again…"

Tears began to fall down Natsu's cheeks as he embraced Lucy, "I'm sorry Luce." He whispered.

Everyone else was silent, as Natsu had just expressed all of their emotions for them…

Lahar spoke, "We've already been searching for three days and there's no sign of them. However the ethernano levels are very high."

"Do you think I care about ethernano levels!?" Natsu shouted furiously while still holding Lucy, "My friends are gone! No, my family is gone!"

Natsu felt a familiar twinge of pain in his head.

 _Even if we don't remember him, he knows us and cares for us…_ Bisca thought.

"Natsu's right!" Lucy shouted.

 _Natsu…_ Lahar thought, ... _that's the dark wizard's name…_

"Pink-haired boy who are you?" Lahar asked.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel." Natsu growled. The pain was growing worse, but slowly.

Everyone gasped, except Lucy.

"Lucy," Bisca shouted, "Is Natsu related to Zeref?!"

"No-" Natsu began to speak, but then it dawned on him… The locket…

"Actually… I don't know." Natsu confessed.

"Natsu Dragneel answer me this, are you the dark wizard?" Lahar asked, his face showing no emotion.

"No he isn't." Lucy answered coldly.

"So what if I am?" Natsu answered, his magic wouldn't spill over yet, he had time.

"Then we would have to take you with us." Lahar said.

"YOU CAN'T TAKE NATSU FROM ME!" Lucy screeched suddenly.

The rain from the forming storm began to fall.

Natsu's head began to pound and Natsu groaned in pain.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried in worry.

"It's… okay Luce… I'll be right back… Let go of me…" Natsu panted.

Lucy released her grip on Natsu and he vanished.

 _Was he in pain just now…?_ Bisca thought.

"Where did he go, why was he in pain?!" Lahar demanded.

"None of your business!" Lucy yelled. But in truth Lucy didn't know either, all Natsu had told her was that he didn't have control over his magic.

 _Natsu…_ Lucy thought.

Natsu reappeared and collapsed, but Lucy caught him, "Natsu!" Lucy cried, "Are you okay?!"

Natsu gave a faint smile before passing out.

 _Why is he always disappearing? He asked Lucy to let go... does that mean if I hold onto him I'll disappear with him?_ Bisca thought.

Lahar started speaking, "I know I'm being insensitive, but I must know. Is he Natsu the dark wizard? He has killed many-"

Lucy cut off Lahar, "Natsu hasn't killed anyone!"

"What you think doesn't matter." Lahar stated coldly.

From on the council boat Doranbolt heard Fairy Tail's cries. So he took a brave step and walked across to Lahar and put a hand on his shoulder, "Leave them be."

"Mest?" Lucy asked in confusion, but he didn't respond.

"But!" Lahar said.

Doranbolt shook his head," No. Let's go."

Lahar sighed then nodded and as they both left Lahar spoke, "Best of luck to you all."

After they had gone Lucy collapsed to the ground, still holding Natsu, from all the emotional stress.

Lucy woke up in a bed, "Where am I?" She mumbled. The memories of earlier came back to her, "Natsu!?" Lucy shouted as she jumped out of bed.

"You're so loud…" Natsu muttered.

Lucy sighed in relief and ran over to him. Her footsteps waking him up.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked in confusion.

"It's me." She smiled.

"Where are we?" Natsu asked.

"In the guild infirmary I think. I just woke up." Lucy explained.

This snapped Natsu awake, "Are you hurt Lucy?! What happened!?" He said in frantic worry.

Lucy giggled, "I'm fine Natsu."  
Natsu sighed in relief.

A serious look entered Lucy's eyes, "Natsu… Can I ask you about your magic?"

Natsu opened his mouth as if to reply, but then closed it and nodded.

"Why isn't your magic working Natsu, don't you remember how to use it?" Lucy asked.

"I do." Natsu said, "But Mavis told me-"

Lucy cut Natsu off, "As in the first master?!"

Natsu nodded and Lucy just gawked at him with an open mouth.

"Anyway, she told me my magic was messed up and that I had to be able to control the dark magic that I have before I can use my own." Natsu explained while sighing. He hated not being able to use his dragon slayer magic to it's fullest extent.

"Can you use your dragon slayer magic at all?" Lucy whispered.

Natsu smiled glumly and nodded, "A little bit." Natsu held out his hand and a small flame appeared in his palm.

"Well at least it isn't gone." Lucy said trying to comfort him.

Natsu sighed. There were things he still had to tell Lucy and he wasn't sure how she would take them.

"So Natsu… Is the dark magic you have to control the magic you are afraid will hurt me?" Lucy asked.

Natsu shook his head, "I asked Mavis the same thing, but she said that those outbursts of magic are called death predation."

"Death… Predation…?" Lucy asked worriedly. Then she remembered the only time she had actually seen Natsu lose control of that magic, everything the magic touched had died.

 _How could I forget that?!_ Lucy thought with horror.

"She also told me something I don't really understand." Natsu said.

"W...What?" Lucy said nervously. She didn't want to hear anymore.

 _Am I scaring her?_ Natsu thought, disgusted with himself.

Natsu took a deep breath, "Mavis told me…. She told me that I would have to forget the value of life for it to stop…I don't know what it means, but…she said that if that happened I would kill people anyway..." Natsu's words drifted off.

Natsu may not have fully understood, but Lucy did and she was mortified.

Lucy grabbed Natsu's shoulders, "No matter what…" Lucy ordered, "You may not forget the value of life. If that happened you wouldn't care about my life, or anything else's life. You wouldn't care if we died."

Natsu now understood and Lucy could see her own horror reflected in his eyes.

Natsu started hyperventilating.

Lucy gasped, "Natsu!"

Natsu's face darkened and he started mumbling, "Either way is bad. Bad, both are bad. I won't hurt you… too important…"

Lucy covered her mouth with her hand in horror.

A memory struck Natsu, " _The curse of contradiction," Mavis repeated, "The curse makes you an unaging immortal._

Natsu felt sick and he gagged at that memory, now understanding why it was a curse.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out.

Tears started flooding Natsu's face, "Lucy… Our friends are gone…"

"No Natsu we'll find them!" Lucy exclaimed.

Natsu continued trying to talk through his hyperventilating, "I could hurt you… or anyone else without... any say in it…. "

Trying to be optimistic Lucy spoke, "We've avoided that so far right? You know what to do when you start losing control."

"Luce… I almost killed you… my magic missed you by a hair on Tenrou island…" Natsu whispered. The thought made him sick beyond words. _This magic why is it mine now?!_ Natsu thought with deep anguish.

Natsu then realized something… He was immortal… He was ageless... Everyone…. Everyone was going to age, everyone was going to die but him… Would he… would he have to watch them all pass on?

Natsu started shaking and Lucy tried to help, "Hey Natsu I'm fine, I'm okay!"

Natsu didn't speak.

Lucy bent down and looked into his eyes. They almost seemed hopeless and empty. Her eyes widened at the sight. She didn't want to see Natsu like this.

However Natsu began to mumble as she stared at him, "Luce I don't want to watch you die. I don't want to watch anyone die…"

"Natsu I won't die!" Lucy proclaimed, "You won't have to watch anyone die you know what to do to keep them safe."

"You don't," Natsu breath hitched from his crying and then tried to continue, "You don't understand Luce."

"No, I can't imagine how hard this is for you, but Natsu I won't leave your side no matter what happens!" Lucy assured him.

Natsu began sobbing, "That isn't it…"

"You can tell me Natsu, I won't think of you any differently." Lucy promised.

Natsu inhaled deeply, "Mavis told me that I'm immortal, that I….. that I won't, that I can't die or… age…"

Lucy went numb.

 _If we don't undo the spell…_ Lucy thought, horrified at the realization _... Natsu will suffer forever… He'll watch us and everything around him die.._

Lucy grabbed Natsu to embrace him. He was shaking.

"Natsu we haven't been on task these past days. I promise you we will undo that spell." Lucy told him determinedly, her voice filled with warmth.

"Thank you…" Natsu whispered.

 _A/N: The chapter was going to be longer, but I think I'll end it here. :p Tell me what you thought of this chapter! :)_


	13. Accident

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

chapter 13

 **Accident**

 _Natsu inhaled deeply, "Mavis told me that I'm immortal, that I….. that I won't, that I can't die or… age…"_

 _Lucy went numb._

 _If we don't undo the spell… Lucy thought, horrified at the realization ... Natsu will suffer forever… He'll watch us and everything around him die.._

 _Lucy grabbed Natsu to embrace him. He was shaking._

" _Natsu we haven't been on task these past days. I promise you we will undo that spell." Lucy told him determinedly, her voice filled with warmth._

" _Thank you…" Natsu whispered._

* * *

 **It had been a couple hours since Natsu's breakdown and he had calmed down.**

Natsu sat on the edge of the infirmary bed, Lucy next to him.

Lucy started to speak, "Hey Natsu do you want to go ask about the spell book?"

Natsu nodded and they walked into the main hall where the guild members sat.

Romeo stood up when he saw the duo, "Natsu! Lucy! You're okay!"

Natsu gave a slight smile.

Bisca ran over to Natsu and Lucy, "I didn't know you were awake! Do you need anything?"

"No, but we were wondering about the book that old spell book Levy had, do you know where it is?" Lucy asked.

Bisca shook her head, "Sorry, I couldn't tell you, but if I had to guess I would say her apartment at Fairy Hills would be the most likely place. I can take you there if you would like since I live there."

"Alright, thanks Bisca!" Lucy smiled.

Lucy turned to Natsu, "Let's go."

Natsu nodded and smiled timidly. Internally Lucy frowned at this she missed his big grin.

* * *

 **At Fairy Hills…**

"Okay… Now which room is Levy's?" Lucy asked not to anyone in particular.

"Oh it's on the second floor I'll take you there." Bisca said simply.

"Okay, Thanks." Lucy said.

Natsu followed close behind Lucy as they walked inside.

As they walked towards the room Natsu took in his surroundings. He noticed the slight smell of an unknown man.

Hey Luce," Natsu said.

"Ya Natsu?" Lucy asked as she turned around.

Before Natsu could tell Lucy about what he smelt, but Bisca started talking first.

"We're here." Bisca said.

"How do we get in?" Lucy asked.

"I have a spare. Levy gave it to me as a back up after she accidentally locked herself out of her room once." Bisca explained.

"Oh." Lucy said.

Bisca took the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door, but when they opened it everything was in shambles.

"Oh my god!" Lucy said, her eye wide in pure shock.

A window was broken, books were all over the floor, some ripped.

Disappointment and worry washed over Natsu even with his limited dragon slayer magic he could still tell that a strange man had definitely been here.

"Luce a man was here." Natsu said while sniffing.

"What?!" Lucy replied.

"His smell is all over the room." Natsu told her.

"His smell?" Bisca asked.

"Dragon slayer nose." Natsu said as he tapped his sniffer.

 _Dragon Slayer… That explains the motion sickness…_ Bisca realised.

"Not gonna try and follow it? usually you'd be looking to fight however did something like this." Lucy asked hopefully.

Natsu smiled sadly, deflating Lucy's spirits. She wanted the strong, happy Natsu back, her Natsu, the one who always lifted her spirits.

Bisca sensed an emotional tension in the air so she spoke up, "Maybe the book is still here."

"Right." Lucy said, looking hopeful again.

"Natsu! Bisca! Help me start looking!" Lucy ordered.

Natsu nodded and Bisca was already on it.

* * *

 **A couple hours later…**

"I think we've basically organized her whole room." Lucy sighed.

"What do we do now…" Natsu said to himself.

"We start tracking that guy!" Bisca told them as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Let's head back to the guild and get a few others."

"Right!" Lucy said.

The three of them ran out of the room, heading towards the guild.

 _I will save Natsu…_ Lucy thought while running. _He's saved me so many times before and now he needs me… So I won't let him down!_

The three of them busted through the guild hall doors.

"You're back!" Jet said.

Bisca noticed a lot of people weren't in the main hall, "Where is everyone?"

"It's Romeo he got really sick all the sudden. They're in the infirmary." Jet told them worriedly, "I just got Porlyusica, but it's pretty cramped in there so I came out for fresh air."

Natsu ran over to the infirmary. Romeo was one of the only ones who seemed to really accept him. Bisca and Lucy followed close behind.

Natsu slammed open the door to the infirmary, "Where's Romeo?!"

Porlyusica glared at him, "I haven't seen you before, but be quiet!"

Ignoring her words Natsu ran over to the bed that held Romeo, "Is he okay?!"

"He has an extremely high fever. It may be that he was keeping it a secret to seem strong or something, because I don't know how he could've gotten to this state without telling anyone we didn't feel well." Porlyusica explained.

Fear overtook Natsu, "But he'll be okay right?!"

"He'll probably pull through just fine." Porlyusica assured him.

Natsu sighed in relief, but it didn't last long as his head began to pound.

Natsu broke a sweat as he glanced back at Lucy to alert her, but Bisca noticed it too.

Natsu began to teleport, but just as he did Bisca put a hand on his shoulder and they both vanished.

"Bisca!" Alzack shouted.

"What the?" Other's mumbled.

"Oh no…" Lucy said in horror.

* * *

 **At Mt. Hakobe…**

The wind sounded like it was crying... Hollering at the world to stop…

Natsu's head was hurting, bad.

"Where are we?! What are you doing here?!" Bisca demanded.

 _No…_ Natsu thought.

 _NO!_

"YOU HAVE TO GET AWAY!" Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs.

"What-" Bisca was cut off.

Natsu pushed her… He had to get her away.

She fell… Rolled… The wave of magic released from Natsu, but it didn't reach Bisca… She had fallen off a cliff…

Natsu had seen it all, almost in slow motion…

He sprinted towards the edge of the cliff, "No no no no no no…" He mumbled to himself.

He looked over the edge… below lay Bisca. She was on ridge… she hadn't fallen too far… but was she alive…?

Natsu teleported to the bottom, almost slipping off the ridge.

"Bisca… Hey Bisca?" Natsu asked reaching down to touch her.

When he did he felt something sticky… It was blood.

Natsu, in horror, almost threw up. _It's not time for that…_ He thought _... I have to get her to the infirmary!_

Natsu gingerly picked her up, not wanting to hurt her further.

He teleported back to the guild, Bisca in his arms…

Natsu appeared on the floor… The blood from Bisca on him as well.

Lucy screamed.

"Bisca!" Alzack screeched. He turned to Natsu, his eyes filled with fury, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Natsu looked horrified and he stuttered, "I had to… I h.. had to get her away from me… but… but she… she fell..."

"Get her up on a bed somebody!" Porlyusica shouted.

"On it!" Droy shouted.

Rage permeated from Alzack and he glared at Natsu, "GET OUT!"

Natsu flinched.

Lucy jumped in to defend him, "It wasn't his fault!"

"He'll only bring trouble!" Alzack said, "Bisca told me who he is! It was wrong to trust him!"

"No! That's not true!" Lucy pleaded.

Everyone else was silent as the conversation continued.

"He's the dark wizard. He hurt Bisca and who's to say he won't attract dark guilds or hurt others!?" Alzack said.

Macao looked at Romeo, his fever burning him alive and sighed, "I… I agree with Alzack… I must do what's best for Romeo…"

"No…" Lucy said.

Slowly, but surely other guild members began agreeing with Alzack.

Natsu stood up, but as heartbroken as he was he tried to smile to stop a pained face, "I'll leave."

"Natsu no!" Lucy shouted.

"They're right I hurt Bisca. I'm not safe…I'll hurt them..." Natsu said sadly.

"Why are you smiling after what you've done!?" Alzack growled.

Pain covered Natsu's face, unable to hold it back, "To hide the pain of hurting my friend."

Still filled with the rage clouding his judgment, Alzack spat back, "I'd rather see the pain! You're no friend to us!"

"Alzack stop it!" Lucy begged.

Natsu headed towards the exit then turned, "I'll miss you all… My family…"

No one responded.

Natsu exited the guild, sure he would not be able to face them again.

"Alzack what have you done!?" Lucy exploded, crying.

"I put that monster in his place." Alzack growled.

"I know you're mad, but… but Natsu truly cares for you all!" Lucy cried out, "Fairy Tail is his family!"

"He'll never be accepted here." Alzack said coldly.

Lucy started shaking and raised her hand...

She slapped him.

"YOU IDIOT! FAIRY TAIL ISN'T FAIRY TAIL WITHOUT NATSU AND… and…" Lucy gulped, "I can't be a part of it without him!"

Lucy then erased her guild mark, tears streaming down her face, and she ran out to find Natsu.

Over the hours as the rage subsided Alzack realized just what he had done.

 _A/N: That took forever to put out, I was struggling to write. Sorry :p Thanks for the support! By the way for anyone who likes horror manga (that is somehow also adorable af) go to mangatown and read:_ _Bastard (HWANG Youngchan) (It helped me write the chapter) I don't even know why I added this manga suggestion in I'm just obsessing over it right now XD_


	14. Determination

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters.

Chapter 14

Determination

"He'll never be accepted here." Alzack said coldly.

Lucy started shaking and raised her hand...

She slapped him.

"YOU IDIOT! FAIRY TAIL ISN'T FAIRY TAIL WITHOUT NATSU AND… and…" Lucy gulped, "I can't be a part of it without him!"

Lucy then erased her guild mark, tears streaming down her face, and she ran out to find Natsu.

* * *

Lucy sprinted after Natsu, tears still streaming down her face. Where is he?! She thought frantically. He didn't teleport away did he? "NATSU!" She cried out.

Natsu sat at the edge of town, softly crying. Rain beginning to fall down around him. His family, his friends didn't want him… He hurt Biska… What right do I have to be there? I knew that I wasn't safe… I knew this would happen… but, I stayed anyway… I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!

As Natsu continued to beat himself up he heard a voice in the distance, underneath all the rain, and quickly picked it out as Lucy's, "...Natsu…"

"Lucy…" Natsu whispered. She's the only one who still knew me… I don't want to hurt her, but I really don't want to leave her either...

As if on autopilot, Natsu slowly stood up and started walking towards Lucy's voice.

Natsu heard her call out again, "...Natsu…" He walked faster. "...Natsu… Natsu… NATSU!" As her voice got louder, Natsu began to sprint as fast as he could towards Lucy.

He didn't know why he didn't just teleport there, but maybe it was because he growing to hate this magic.

Natsu started calling back to Lucy, "LUCY!"

"NATSU?!" Lucy shouted in response.

"LUCY!" Natsu shouted again.

"NATSU!" Lucy replied happily calling out to him.

Finally Natsu could see her up ahead and kept running for her as she ran towards him and they collided in a hug.

Natsu was still crying softly not knowing why he ran all the way here when just his presence could easily hurt one of the people he cared about most.

"Lucy…" Natsu said, "I don't want to leave you…"

"You idiot…" Lucy whispered, "I won't let you leave me."

"But I hurt Bisca! What if I hurt you too?!" Natsu cried.

"You won't hurt me and Bisca will be fine; she has Porlyusica with her." Lucy reassured him.

Silence fell and they eventually unlocked from their hug. As they let go of each other Natsu held her hand still, not moving as she leaned on him, while they sat on a bench. He looked at Lucy and he saw her face was painted with faint distress. Why? What happened? Was it me? Natsu thought worriedly. He looked around taking careful observation. Only then did he notice. With horror on his face Natsu quietly asked, "Lucy… what happened to your guild mark?"

Lucy's smile faded for a second, but quickly returned, "I can't be a part of Fairy Tail without you Natsu…"

"Lucy you didn't have to go that far!" Natsu cried in dismay.

"But I wanted to…" Lucy replied, "I'll only rejoin once you can rejoin Natsu."

Natsu looked at her in awe and thought, She's so strong… and I've… I've only been being weak this whole time… Lucy is the strong one… she didn't run from this… I have to shoulder my own weight… I have to be strong for her!

Natsu took Lucy's face in his hands and turned her to look Lucy square in the eyes.

"Natsu what the-!" Lucy was then cut off by Natsu, "I'm going to be stronger now Lucy, so please… stop shouldering my burden."

Lucy shook her head and touched his warm hand that was on her face, looking warmly at Natsu, "I can't do that… I'm going to carry it with you whether you like it or not."

Natsu thought for a second and then grinned warmly and said, "Fine. As long as you stay safe Luce."

"Such a worry wart Natsu," Lucy laughed, "So unlike you."

Natsu blushed and pouted, "I'm allowed to be worried…"

Lucy giggled and stood up. Natsu looked up at her.

"Let's go Natsu!" Lucy said.

Natsu nodded and stood up as well, "Were should we go?"

"We should probably keep looking for that spell book for... Can you still smell the robber's scent?" Lucy asked.

Natsu shook his head, "No the rain washed it away, I think. I still can't smell too well."

Lucy sighed, "Well we have to start somewhere. He might have sold it to a dark guild or a library…"

"I don't know if we're ready enough to take on a dark guild maybe we should go with the library…" Natsu said looking at Lucy worriedly.

Lucy huffed, "Are you doubting me Natsu?"

"No!" Natsu said trying to defend himself, "I just think I should get stronger first before we take on a dark guild!"

"Oh that's it!" Lucy said grinning, "Tired of being weak? Well we could work on that first I guess."

"Thanks Luce!" Natsu said happily, "Though you didn't have to add in that comment about me being weak…" Natsu mumbled.

"Sorry Natsu!" Lucy said giggling. Getting less silly Lucy stated, "Well I guess we should go out into the mountains then."

"Ya- ohh oooww!" Natsu said cutting himself off as a stinging pain shot through his head.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted worriedly.

"Don't worry. I'm fine!" Natsu said wincing, "I'll be right back."

Lucy sighed and Natsu reappeared a little while later.

"Alright now that you're back let's go. Want to teleport there?"

"No." Natsu said shaking his head, "I want to use this magic as little as possible."

Lucy frowned at the fact of walking, but quickly put on a happy face as she wanted to support Natsu's decisions.

* * *

As they walked…

"Sooo Natsu are you just gonna practice dragon slayer magic while I sit in a corner or something?" Lucy said sarcastically.

Natsu chuckled, "Hmm… you could train too… or…" His eyes lit up, "OH I KNOW! You could be my opponent!"

"What?!" Lucy asked in disbelief.

Natsu explained, "While I hate to admit it, I'm pretty weak strength wise right now so you could probably take me on." It would also really hurt my ego if you beat me though… Natsu silently added to himself.

"I mean I guess it's worth a shot." Lucy said optimistically, pumping herself up.

Natsu lit his hand on fire, but that was the most he could manage. She could definitely beat me. Natsu sighed inwardly.

* * *

Back at the guild hall…

Romeo awoke in the infirmary, feeling better from his sickness. He turned on his side and saw Bisca laying in the bed next to his.

What happened? He thought groggily.

Romeo heard Bisca groan.

"Bisca?" Romeo asked in worry. Bisca whimpered and her eyes opened.

Romeo sat up, "What happened?"

"Something with Natsu…" Bisca trailed off.

Just then Alzack walked into the infirmary and saw that Bisca was awake.

"Bisca!" Alzack shouted happily as he ran over to her. He gingerly leaned down and hugged Bisca while saying, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Alzack where's my Dad?" Romeo asked.

"He's back in the main hall, want me to get him?" Alzack asked.

"I can do it." Romeo said shaking his head.

"But you were very sick are you sure you can walk?" Alzack asked worriedly.

Romeo hopped out of bed, a little wobbly, but still able to stand, "I'm good." Romeo proceeded to run out of the room.

Alzack gave an exasperated sigh.

"Alzack…" Bisca said smiling. However she quickly frowned, "Where's Natsu?" The last things she remembered were concerning.

Alzack sat Bisca up and sighed, "Bisca… I'm I'm sorry, but I made him leave… and Lucy followed him and I… don't think they're coming back…"

"Why would you do that!?" Bisca exclaimed in shock.

Alzack tried to explain his actions, "He brought you back hurt blubbering about how he didn't mean to do and it made me so angry that he hurt you! I just-"

Bisca cut him off, "Alzack I don't remember that clearly, but I think I only got hurt because he pushed me away to protect me. There was something… wrong… with him, with his magic."

"I'm such an idiot!" Alzack yelled.

"Alzack we can fix this." Bisca said calmly, "We just have to find him."

Alzack nodded determinedly. Bisca tried to move, but cried out in pain, "AAUGH!"

"Bisca!" Alzack shouted in worry, "Don't try and move!"

"My leg… is it broken?" Bisca asked panting.

"Not just that! Some of your ribs are broken too!" Alzack cried, "Porlyusica came and treated you earlier, but she said she could fully heal them and that you needed to stay in bed for at least a week."

"Dammit." Bisca said.

"Listen I'll go look for them." Alzack told her, "Maybe you could stay here and send out requests to other guilds. Though many are still looking for the Tenrou team…" Alzack trailed off.

"Alright. Just go find them… Lucy is an important part of Fairy Tail and Natsu could be too if we give him time; he cares for us." Bisca warmly.

"I'll go now then, just stay safe." Alzack said.

"I promise." Bisca swore.

With that Alzack headed into the main hall to gather others to help look.

* * *

Back in the forest…

"How much farther do you want to go Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"At least until we can't see Magnolia anymore. I know the rain is annoying, but the less damage that this magic I have can do the better." Natsu said seriously.

Lucy sighed, "True." This rain cold though… "Ah wait!" Lucy exclaimed, "I have horologium!" Lucy quickly pulled out his key and shouted, "Open gate of the clock constellation, Horologium!"

Lucy now sat inside inside horologium as he spoke for her, "'That's better' the lady says."

"No fair Lucy! It's still cold out here!" Natsu said pouting.

Lucy grinned and stuck her tongue out.

* * *

Meanwhile…

A man spoke to himself, "Time to find his majesty..." _I heard rumor he is somewhere in the Kingdom of Fiore... I will start there._

* * *

A/N: OH MY GOSH I HAVEN'T POSTED IN FOREVER! Please forgive me ;-; I don't have a good excuse!


	15. Emotion

_Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy tail or any of its characters._

 _A/N: So in the last chapter I realized I totally forgot that Romeo was sick in chapter 13 So I redid chapter 14 to fix that , but the plot wasn't affected at all. So yay? XD_

 **Chapter 15**

Emotion

 **It had been a couple of hours since Lucy and Natsu began their trek and they were still walking…**

"Natsuuuu!" Lucy whined, "How much farther are we going to walk?"

Horologium disappeared on Lucy quite a while ago, but at least the rain had stopped.

"I don't know." Natsu said, teasing her with his answer.

"This is far enough then! We've been walking forever and all we can see is forest!" Lucy stated, annoyed.

"Fine." Natsu said giving into her demands. Lucy slumped against a tree in relief.

"Luce I'm going to train, that okay?" Natsu asked.

Not wanting to get involved in any sort of training at the moment, despite her earlier decision to try and battle Natsu, Lucy answered, "Okay I can… Find food or something else for shelter in case it starts raining again."

"Be safe though." Natsu called to Lucy as she walked away from the place they settled at.

Natsu's worry over her put Lucy in a happy mood, which surprised her a little, but she shrugged off the thought and went on her way.

* * *

 **Back at camp…**

 _Okay…_ Thought Natsu, _I gotta get my dragon slaying powers back in tip top shape in case we need to do fighting. I guess I'll work on expanding my flames, considering I can only conjure them on my hands…_

Natsu proceeded to engulf his hands in his flames and worked on getting his fire to spread.

It was only about 20 minutes before Lucy returned with food, but she was soaking wet and dirty.

Natsu looked up, "Ah… Lucy?"

Lucy grunted angrily in acknowledgment.

Natsu ran over to Lucy, "You look terrible! What happened!?" Natsu said frantically.

"Calm down Natsu." Lucy said reassuringly, "I fell into the water when I was trying to catch fish, but as you can see…" Lucy gestured to the fruits and nuts she was holding, "I didn't catch any."

Natsu sighed in relief, now knowing that she was okay.

"Anyway." Lucy said, "How's your training coming?"

"It hasn't been that long Luce, but good I guess." Natsu replied.

"Oh well." Lucy sighed.

Out of nowhere Natsu lit his hand on fire and shoved it in Lucy's face.

"AAHHH! WHAT THE HECK NATSU?!" Lucy shouted in surprise.

"You're soaking wet I figured you needed to dry off!" Natsu said as if it were totally obvious.

"YOU COULD HAVE MADE A CAMPFIRE WITH IT THEN!" Lucy retorted, angrily.

"Oh yeah…" Natsu said with realization.

Lucy sighed in annoyance, "Idiot." Natsu gave a sheepish smile before he quickly went to get wood for a fire.

Lucy didn't know where to put all the food as she was still holding it.

When Natsu came back and made the fire, Lucy said, "Give me something to put the food on."

"Like what?" Natsu asked.

Lucy would have asked for his vest, but he was still wearing the black robes from when she found him.

Forgetting what her original goal was Lucy stated, "Zeref has some weird clothing choices, doesn't he?"

Natsu looked down at his outfit and laughed, "Yeah my improvements were much needed."

"You mean ripping off the sleeves and doing away with the sash and boots?" Lucy said sarcastically. While the outfit was better completed with the items, Lucy had to admit what Natsu had done to it fit him better.

Natsu pouted.

Remembering the food in her arms Lucy sighed and just put them on the ground, no longer caring enough to put them on something. Natsu didn't question her decision.

"Anyway," Lucy said, "Do you want to eat now?"

"Sure!" Natsu said happily. The two proceeded to eat all of the food Lucy had gathered.

The sun had set by the time they were done.

"Natsu I'm tired." Lucy said yawning.

"Me too." Natsu said sleepily.

At that Lucy's head started to bob and she eventually fell to the side, now leaning on Natsu's shoulder.

Natsu gazed at Lucy warmly before, he too, passed out.

.

.

.

 **(Natsu POV)**

It was burning...

Everything was burning...

I was crying…

In front of me lay the body of my brother.

Mother and Father were gone… dead. I had to save my brother, at least, maybe he was still alive...

I crawled towards him. He wasn't burned... He just looked like he was sleeping. I dragged him from the burning building, into the nearby forest...

"Please wake up…" I asked quietly, "Please! PLEASE BROTHER WAKE UP!"

But he wouldn't move… he was dead, I knew it from the start. I collapsed, bawling.

I cried for what seemed like hours, maybe longer, until I passed out.

When I awoke, my brother's body was still there… he was still dead…

Around his neck, my brother wore a silver locket…

I went over to him and unclipped it… this would be all I had of him? It couldn't be…

"WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE!?" I shouted in anger, "why…?"

This isn't right… I refuse to accept it…

"I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT!" I screeched, "I won't let this be the last time I see you… I won't…"

I hugged my brother's body and whispered to him, "I'll bring you back… I promise I'll find a way…"

.

.

.

 **(Normal POV)**

It was still dark out when Natsu awoke panting, in a cold sweat. _What… What was that?_ Natsu thought, terrified. _A nightmare? But it was so real…_

Without thinking Natsu reached down to his chest and grabbed the silver locket. It was the same one in the dream… He opened it and once again saw the picture of him and Zeref.

Tears began to fall down Natsu's face and this confused him. _Why? Why am I crying?_ Natsu thought.

Natsu didn't know the answer, but he did know one thing...

As much as Natsu didn't want admit it, as much as he wanted to say it wasn't true, Natsu knew that the boy in the locket, Zeref, was his brother in the dream he just had.

More tears fell down Natsu's face and he began to feel incredibly sad, happy, relieved, and more, all at the same time, but… he didn't know why. Where were these feelings coming from? He didn't like Zeref at all… so why? Why did he feel this way?! Why was he so happy that Zeref was alive?!

Natsu put his hand on his face. _What is this?_ He thought, scared.

At this moment Lucy began to stir, "Natsu?" She asked groggily.

Natsu flinched. He wasn't going to be weak anymore, he promised Lucy that. So Natsu quickly wiped away his tears, putting on a brave face, and turned to her, smiling, "Ya Luce?"

Lucy smiled, "Nothing." Lucy nuzzled Natsu's shoulder, before falling back asleep, leaving Natsu to his thoughts.

 _A/N: All will be explained in the next chapter or two! probably. Let me know what you think is going on! I won't tell you the answer though! Just yes or nope or kinda XD Oh by the way thank's to everyone who have sent me reviews! They are much appreciated! I have seen them all and If I didn't respond... Well that was because I could literally think of nothing to say! Some of the reviews were theories and I don't want to spoil anything ;) XD_


	16. Hope

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters

Chapter 16

Hope

Natsu sat quietly as Lucy slept. Ever since he had that dream earlier, he hadn't been able to go back to sleep. He was still unable to process his thoughts… his feelings…

Natsu remembered how he felt in his dream, quite well, and it scared him, it was so real… almost like a memory…

That couldn't have been a memory… right? Natsu thought worriedly. I don't remember ever doing anything like that… and why? Why was my brother Zeref? That doesn't make any sense! Zeref has been around for 400 years! I don't… I don't get it…

Natsu continued to try and understand his dream until the sun rose...

.

.

.

Lucy yawned as her eyes flickered open. Her eyes moved to look at Natsu.

"You're awake?" Lucy asked quietly. She was surprised that Natsu woke up before her.

Natsu didn't answer her as he was still trying to figure everything out.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked. No response.

Lucy shook Natsu a little and spoke louder, "Hey, Natsu?"

Startled, Natsu turned towards Lucy, "hm?"

"You were spacing out." Lucy told him.

"Oh, sorry Lucy I didn't notice you were up." Natsu apologized.

"Obviously." Lucy said, lightheartedly. Natsu gave Lucy a grin.

Lucy stood up and stretched, "So what's on the agenda today?"

Natsu yawned, "I don't know, more training maybe?"

"Yeah, that's probably going to be the default thing we do everyday." Lucy said.

Natsu yawned and stood up to stretch, then said, "Well I better get to it then."

Lucy suddenly remembered Natsu's offer for them to fight. Now that I'm rested I think I'm up to it! Lucy thought with determination.

"Hey Natsu!" Lucy said, "Wanna try fighting me like you suggested?"

"Alright!" Natsu said, pounding his fists together, "But I'm going to win!"

"No way!" Lucy said.

Lucy grabbed her keys and took out Loke's, "Open gate of the Lion, Leo!"

"Hello Beautiful!" Loke said as he materialized. Loke looked over at Natsu, "This who I'm beating for you?"

"Yes, but don't rough him up too bad, it's just training!" Lucy said confidently.

"I don't think I'll even have to use my full power to beat you Pinky!" Loke said smugly

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Natsu shouted, "Now I'm fired up!"

Lucy smiled, "Alright Loke! Do your thing!"

"Right away gorgeous." Loke replied.

Natsu charged Loke, fire enveloping his fists, "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

Natsu's fist collided with Loke, but not without Loke getting a hit in as well.

Natsu grinned a wild grin, enjoying the fight. Natsu and Loke leapt back into their brawl, both exchanging punches.

"Even in this state…" Natsu said, fired up, "I can still beat you!"

"Come on Loke you can do this!" Lucy shouted in support.

Loke grinned, "Of course I can!"

"AAAAHHHHH!" Natsu shouted as he punched Loke's lower jaw from below.

Loke was sent flying.

"Loke!" Lucy shouted in worry, "Do you need to switch out?"

"I'm fine Lucy!" Loke responded.

Natsu charged Loke again preparing another punch. It's so annoying that I can only use my fire in my hands. Natsu thought as he slugged Loke in stomach, but Loke kicked up, also hitting Natsu's gut.

Natsu and Loke were panting.

"Ready to give up pinky?" Loke asked.

"I'm not even near done!" Natsu said, regaining his composure.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Natsu shouted, speeding towards Loke.

Loke also let out a battle cry as he charged Natsu, "HHAAAAAA!"

Natsu jumped up, avoiding a punch, and grabbed Loke's head. Now using it as a hold he shoved his knee into Loke's stomach.

"Sorry Lucy…" Loke muttered, "I gotta head back…"

"It's okay! Go rest!" Lucy ordered, closing his gate.

Once Loke was gone, Lucy asked, "Do you want to keep going?"  
"Yeah I feel totally fine!" Natsu said, pumped up.

"Alright then! Open gate of the maiden, Virgo!" Lucy shouted.

"Do you wish to punish me princess?" Virgo said as she appeared.

"Not right now Virgo! Just help me beat Natsu!" Lucy said, unswayed by Loke's defeat.

"Right away princess." Virgo said as she tunneled into the ground.

Natsu prepared himself, assuming Virgo would come up beneath him.

As Virgo shot out of the ground, Natsu clasped his, burning, hands together and hit down with all his force.

After hitting her on the head like that, Vrigo vanished almost instantly.

"Ah! Virgo!" Lucy shouted, "Alright then, open gate of the scorpion, Scorpio!"

I'm already running out of magic power? Great. Lucy thought, annoyed.

"This fight is gonna be wicked!" Scorpio said.

"Blow him away!" Lucy commanded.

Scorpio grinned and sent a blast of sand from his tail.

I can't see! Dammit! Natsu thought, angrily. He tried to charge forward, but he was swept off his feet and slammed backwards against a tree.

"AAUUGH!" Natsu shouted. Why did that hurt so much?! Natsu thought, more angry than worried.

"Hold on Scorpio, stop!" Lucy shouted.

Scorpio ceased his attack and muttered, "Not wicked at all..."

Lucy ran over to Natsu, "Natsu are you okay?!"

"I fine Lucy! Come on let's keep going! I'm gonna beat you!" Natsu said, still way too into the fight.

"Not until I make sure you're okay!" Lucy said, not budging.

"Okay okay fine." Natsu said, disappointed.

Natsu turned to let Lucy see his back.

Lucy gasped, "Oh my gosh Natsu! You're bleeding!" His clothes were soaked around the wound.

"Ehhh?!" Natsu said.

Lucy looked at the tree behind Natsu and saw a sharp, broken branch.

"You're lucky this didn't impale you!" Lucy said in shock, "Let's take off your top so we can use it to stop the bleeding.

Lucy gently helped Natsu take off his top. She then, folded the top and pressed it against Natsu's back then commanded, "Scoot away from the branch that hurt you and press your back against the tree to hold the cloth in place."

Natsu nodded, "I got it."

"I'm going to go to the stream nearby and summon Aquarius for some water. Don't move!" Lucy told Natsu, hurriedly.

Lucy sprinted off and Natsu sighed. Some training session this turned out to be. Natsu thought. Though it was nice to spar with her. I miss doing that...

Natsu's thoughts suddenly turned to his friends who disappeared with Tenrou. We should really be looking for them… Erza, Cana, Gildarts, Levy, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, Happy, Lily, Gramps, Bickslow, Freed, Evergreen, Elfman, Mira, Lisanna, Juvia, and… who else am I missing?

Natsu knew he was forgetting someone, but who? Zeref? He thought. Natsu still didn't know how to feel about Zeref, but he wasn't it anyway. It was someone else he was missing. WHO IS IT?! Natsu thought, annoyed at his forgetfulness.

Just then, Lucy came sprinting back towards Natsu with Aquarius.

"This is the friend?" Aquarius asked.

"Yeah, but please don't hurt him!" Lucy begged.

"I won't." Aquarius said. She then proceeded to drench Lucy in water.

"What the heck Aquarius?!" Lucy shouted angrily. Aquarius chuckled and the disappeared.

"I swear…" Lucy muttered. I thought she would be a little more helpful than that! I could have drenched myself if I wanted to do that! Lucy thought angrily.

Lucy sighed, "Whatever. Natsu let me see your back."

"Kay'." Natsu said turning around, letting his folded top fall.

Lucy picked up Natsu's top and used a clean part to soak up some water off her clothes.

I am going to kill Aquarius! Lucy thought, annoyed.

Lucy proceeded to gently wipe away the blood on Natsu's back.

Natsu took the silence as an opportunity to ask who he was forgetting about.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah Natsu?" Lucy replied

"Which of our friends are missing?" Natsu questioned.

Lucy paused. Weird Question, I thought he would have figured that out. She thought. But whatever, he's Natsu. Lucy proceeded to answer, "Let's see… Well there's Cana, Levy, Erza, Mira… Oh and Lisanna and Elfman... Gray…

That was it! Gray! Natsu felt his body go cold. How could I forget Gray?! Natsu thought, mortified.

Lucy kept talking, "...Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, Happy, Lily, Gramps, Bickslow, Freed, Evergreen, Juvia, and oh Gildarts went there when I brought you to Fairy Tail. There's also Zeref, but I wouldn't consider him as a friend…"

Lucy gasped, snapping Natsu back into reality.

"What?!" Natsu said in surprise.

"There's no wound!" Lucy said, baffled.

"What?!" Natsu repeated in disbelief.

Lucy racked her brain for possible answers then muttered, "Maybe it's the curse… Yeah that would make sense…"

Natsu was able to hear what she said and sighed inwardly. I can't die, age, properly use my dragon slaying magic, or stay injured… Well that isn't really a bad thing, but anyway on top of that I also send out waves of death!

Natsu sighed out loud. I also somehow forgot popsicle brain and had that weird dream. Well I'll deal with it somehow…

"Hey." Lucy said, "It'll be okay, I promise." She assumed Natsu was upset again.

"I know." Natsu said, "I'm more annoyed than scared now." Except for the dream and the whole forgetting Gray thing. Natsu added to himself.

"Well…" Lucy said, "Do you want to go find food?"

Natsu stood up, "Sure!"

Lucy realized she was still holding Natsu's top and said, "Well maybe we should wash your top first." Lucy looked down at her own sopping clothes and then added, "And dry me off."

"I can make another fire if you want." Natsu suggested.

Lucy shook her head, "Let's wash your top first, I'll probably just get wet again if I do that after I dry off."

"Okay." Natsu said shrugging.

As Natsu and Lucy started heading towards the stream, Lucy remembered Natsu's question about their friends on Tenrou. I wonder if they're really alive… Lucy and Natsu wanted them to be alive, badly, but Lucy didn't know for sure anymore…

"Natsu…" Lucy started, "Do you think we'll be able to find everyone?" Lucy knew his answer already, but she wanted to hear it again.

"Of course Lucy!" Natsu said reassuringly. After that a wave of silence washed over the two as they walked.

.

.

.

Once the pair arrived at the stream and were cleaning, Natsu broke the silence, "You know Lucy I was watching you guys compete for S-Class for a little bit before you found me. I was really jealous."

"Really?" Lucy asked in surprise, "So you were the reason I felt someone watching me!"

"Yeah, you almost caught me." Natsu said with a little laughter in his voice.

"So what were you going to do for the second trial again?" Natsu asked.

"We had to look for Mavis's grave." Lucy told him.

"Really?!" Natsu asked in surprise.

"Yeah really." Lucy replied, giggling a tiny bit.

"I was just surprised, because when I was on Tenrou I met Mavis?!"

"What?!" Lucy shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah, she was the one who told me about my curse." Natsu said.

Lucy went back to washing Natsu's togga or whatever it was, she didn't know what to call it.

"So what did she look like?" Lucy asked.

"I think she had really light blond hair and green eyes, but I don't really know." Natsu said, unsure.

"What do you mean you don't know? You talked to her!" Lucy asked, thoroughly confused.

"It was really confusing…" Natsu said, not sure how to explain it, "...It was like I knew what she saying without hearing or seeing her…"

"Now you just sound crazy." Lucy told him.

"Well she was there!" Natsu said, disgruntled.

"I believe you, don't worry." Lucy said with a smile.

"She said she was and aprimation, or something." Natsu said.

"An apparition you mean?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I think." Natsu muttered.

"Do you think we'd be able to talk to her?" Lucy asked curiously, "She was on Tenrou so maybe she knows what happened."

"It's worth a shot!" Natsu said enthusiastically.

"Alright then! Come on Natsu, Let's go right now!" Lucy said excitedly standing up.

"Right!" Natsu said.

"Put this on first though." Lucy said, handing Natsu his top.

"But it's still wet!" Natsu said in defiance.

"Yeah well I am too." Lucy said gesturing to herself.

Natsu grinned, "I guess it's fine then." Natsu quickly put on his top.

"Jerk!" Lucy said, smiling.

"Okay let's go!" Said Natsu.

The two enthusiastically started running back to Magnolia, it was time to get their friends back!

* * *

A/N: This chapter was so long (for me anyway lol)! Hope you enjoyed it! :D I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can! And sorry you'll have to wait a little bit longer for the memory dream explanations or whatever, I underestimated the story's pace. XD


	17. Tenrou Island

_A/N: I was going to post sooner, but I got assaulted by writer's block for a little bit. :p_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 **Chapter 17**

Tenrou Island

" _Okay let's go!" Said Natsu._

 _The two enthusiastically started running back to Magnolia, it was time to get their friends back!_

* * *

Lucy and Natsu were in Magnolia and running straight to the ocean.

As they were running Lucy spoke, "Where..." *Pant* "...are we…" *Pant* "...going to get..." *Pant* "…a boat?"

"Oh yeah we have to get a boat!" Natsu said distraughtly, forgetting that he wouldn't get motion sickness. He wasn't tired at all either so he was talking just fine.

"You'll be fine Natsu." Lucy said, practically reading his mind, "You don't have enough" *Pant* "of your dragon slayer..," *Pant* "...magic to get sick…" *Pant*

"Oh yeah!" Natsu said happily. _I guess there's one upside to all of this._ Natsu thought positively.

Going back to Lucy's earlier question, Natsu said, "We'll just get whatever boat we can find then."

"But it has to be…" *Pant* "...big enough to get them…" *Pant* "...all back!" Lucy replied.

Still running, Natsu turned back and opened his mouth to speak, but didn't as a look of realization and annoyance was plastered on his face, "I mean if we really have to, I can teleport them back…"

Lucy glared at Natsu and stopped running, "THEN WHY DID YOU MAKE ME RUN ALL THEY WAY HERE?!"

"It's not that far Luce!" Natsu exclaimed as he too stopped, after realizing Lucy had done so.

"...I swear…" Lucy muttered angrily under her breath, but then sighed, "No we really don't have to use your magic if you don't want to Natsu."

"It's fine," Natsu said reassuringly, "I'll take you right now."

Natsu was about to grab Lucy's hand when she stopped him, "Natsu! We need to take a boat there! We won't have anywhere to stand if you teleport us!"

"Oh right." Natsu said, smiling sheepishly.

Just then Natsu and Lucy heard someone shouting behind them, "NATSU!"

The two whipped around to see Romeo sprinting towards them.

Lucy gasped, "Romeo?! What are you doing?! You should be in bed! You were really sick just yesterday!"

"Yeah." Romeo said, "But I got better! Yesterday I wasn't allowed to leave the guild hall, but today I snuck out to help look for you guys!"

"People are looking for us?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah… My dad said that Alzack felt really bad that he sent you away, also Bisca was upset that he did that." Romeo explained.

Lucy smiled warmly at Natsu, but he didn't acknowledge it.

Lucy turned back to Romeo, "Listen can you go let your dad and others and let them know that we have an idea of how to get the Tenrou team back?"

Romeo's eyes lit up, "Really?!"

"Yeah, but we don't know if it'll work yet." Lucy informed him.

"Any chance of getting them back is fine!" Romeo said happily.

"Alright! Tell them to head out to the location of Tenrou!" Lucy told him.

Romeo nodded, "See you guys when you get back!"

As Romeo started running Natsu spoke up to say something, "Romeo!"

Romeo looked back.

Natsu continued, "We'll bring Zeref and the others back! I promise you that!"

Romeo grinned and then shouted, "RIGHT!"

Lucy looked at Natsu, confused, "Why did you specify on Zer-"

Natsu cut Lucy off and started walking, "Let's go find a boat."

 _What's wrong Natsu…?_ Lucy thought worriedly.

.

.

.

 **Once they were out on the water…**

Lucy was hooked up to the magic boat using an SE-Plug as she looked at Natsu, who was silent.

 _Dammit…_ Natsu thought, _What are these feeling I have for Zeref? An overwhelming relief at remembering seeing him, worry for his safety, a slight feeling of disappointment… I don't get it!_

"Hey Natsu…" Lucy said, interrupting Natsu's train of thought.

"Mmm?" Natsu said, looking up at Lucy.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked seriously.

"I'm fine Luce, don't worry about me." Natsu replied.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Lucy asked, though it was more like an order.

When Lucy said that Natsu realized how tired he really was. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, fought Lucy, got stabbed, and then ran pretty dang far; he was exhausted.

Natsu yawned, "Okay, but let me know if you need to switch off on the SE-plug, I'm willing to take a turn."

"I will." Lucy reassured him as Natsu began to nod off.

.

.

.

 **(Natsu POV)**

I'm at a desk, there are papers filled with research all around me and I'm writing more of them…

One of my teachers walked into the room and spoke, "I thought we told you to halt the construction of Eclipse."

 _No... I need more time, I'm almost done…_

"Just a bit more. A bit more and I'll be done." I told my teacher, "This doesn't tread on your precious ethics either. The door that turns back time, eclipse."

"What do you intend to do after returning to the past?" My teacher questioned seriously.

"Well…" I trailed off. _He already knew the answer…_

"The R-System and Eclipse are both just tools for you to bring your dead brother back to life, aren't they?" My teacher asked, though it was more like a statement. He continued, "You truly are possessed by a fancy for dangerous thoughts. Thoughts of human resurrection."

"..." I didn't say anything.

"The board of directors has finalized your expulsion." My teacher stated suddenly.

 _No!_

"We all… We all had very high hopes for you. It really is a shame." My teacher said sadly.

"But… I…" I said, trying to think up an excuse to let me stay.

"Your brother will not be brought back to life." My teacher said sternly.

 _No… No no no no NO! I will bring him back to life! I promised him!_

"HE WILL NEVER COME BACK TO LIFE!" My teacher shouted angrily.

 _You're wrong! I will bring him back!_

A pain washed over me and then the plants around me began to wither…

"Nat...su?" My teacher asked, scared.

"Teacher…" I said, worriedly.

"This…" My teacher said, shakily, "So this is the fury of Ankhseram…"

Screams sounded throughout the academy and then there was silence. My teacher was dead and so was everyone else...

 _No… No….NO! What happened?! Why is everyone dead?! I didn't… what's going on?! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 **(Normal POV)**

Natsu awoke will a start, hyperventilating, shaking, sweating, and crying.

Natsu had been asleep for thirty minutes and Lucy hadn't been paying attention to Natsu for the past five, but when she turned to look at him after hearing a gasp, Lucy almost screamed.

Lucy practically ripped off the SE-Plug and stumbled over to Natsu, almost falling off the boat.

"Oh my God! Natsu are you alright?!" Lucy shouted as she enveloped him in a hug.

"I didn't mean to… I'm sorry!" Natsu said, bawling like a child, while hugging Lucy back.

Lucy didn't know what to do, she had never seen Natsu this way, so she just hugged tighter.

Natsu hugged back and kept crying and apologizing.

It was then Natsu felt the rush of pain in his head he knew it all too well and he screamed as he pushed Lucy off of him, "NO! YOU HAVE TO GET AWAY!"

Startled, Lucy accidentally backed off the boat and into the water. Natsu, too, jumped off the boat in the opposite direction of Lucy, and struggled to get as far away from her as he could. In his panicked, hysterically state he couldn't remember that he could teleport, so he swam until the wave of death magic hit and vanished.

Lucy swam after Natsu, yelling out his name as she did, "Natsu!"

As Lucy got around the side of the boat she saw Natsu a little ways away in the water, but his eyes were closed and he wasn't swimming.

Lucy gasped and swam over to Natsu as quickly as she could and pulled him back onto the boat.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried desperately, "Speak! Please!"

He didn't respond. Lucy put her ear to his chest to check his pulse and sighed in relief, "He's still alive."

.

.

.

Natsu opened his eyes, jolting awake, he could barely breath!

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted in relief, but that relief faded quickly, Natsu's eyes looked panicked.

Then he started coughing, coughing up water to be exact, and a lot of it.

Lucy gasped sharply. Remembering the curse, in shock, Lucy thought, _Oh my god… If he didn't have the curse he'd be dead! I'm an idiot! He was breathing, slightly, but he was! So I didn't realize he had water in his lungs!_

Lucy scrambled over to Natsu to help him get the water out of his lungs, eventually Natsu started to breath normally again, but he also began to cry again.

Lucy sat next to Natsu, comforting him as he sat, crying.

"...I didn't mean to… I'm sorry ...I just wanted to keep my promise… I wanted to see him again…" Natsu said, quietly, while he clutched his locket tightly.

Lucy rubbed Natsu's back, while whispering to him, "Natsu… it's okay, you're safe. It was just a bad dream…" _That is all that was right?_ Lucy thought trying to comfort herself as well. _He just woke up from a bad dream, that's all._

.

.

.

 **Ten minutes later…**

Natsu had stopped crying and was starting to remember what was going on…

 _That was a dream… No, that couldn't have been a dream._ Natsu thought certainly, _That was… a memory? But I wasn't a child, I was around the age I am now… So it couldn't have been my own..._

Lucy suddenly spoke up, concern in her voice, "Natsu…"

 _I made her worry!_ Natsu thought, distraughtly.

Lucy continued, "...Could you please tell me what that was about?"

Natsu flinched. He was sure he wouldn't tell Lucy, he was going to carry himself. He thought it was sickening that Lucy had to see him like that. He would carry this by himself, he wasn't going to burden Lucy.

After a long silence, Natsu spoke, "I just had a really bad nightmare."

Lucy sighed, deeply, in relief. _Thank god it was only that!_

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lucy asked.

Natsu nodded, he wouldn't tell her about his suspicions about the dream being a memory, but he would tell her the gist of the dream, or at least part of it.

Natsu began to speak, "In the dream… My curse killed everyone…"  
Lucy hugged Natsu, "But none of us are dead. Hopefully we'll be able to prove that shortly."

Natsu nodded, "I know, I was just really scared when I woke up, but I'm better now."

"Then I have one more question." Lucy said, "Earlier you were muttering about a promise and wanting to see him. Who is him?"  
Natsu stiffened. "I don't… I don't remember… I forgot most of the dream." He had said the first thing that came to his mind.

 _I'm sorry Lucy…. That was a lie. I didn't forget my dream and it was Zeref I was talking about… and I'm sure now that... he is my precious little brother._

Natsu's eyes started to water as he thought of Zeref, but then suddenly a part of Natsu screamed at himself. _ZEREF ISN'T YOUR LITTLE BROTHER! YOU ARE NATSU DRAGNEEL, SON OF IGNEEL!_

That was right… he was Igneel's son, he never went to some school to save some little brother! But… but that didn't change the fact that he had many deep feelings for Zeref right now...

Out of nowhere Natsu stood up and shouted, angrily, at the stop of his lungs, "DAMMIT I'M SO CONFUSED!"

Lucy jumped in surprise from the sudden outburst.

Natsu looked down at the startled Lucy, "Uhh… sorry Luce, didn't mean to scare ya…"

But Lucy didn't care that Natsu startled her, she was just glad to hear fire in his voice again.

"It's fine Natsu!" Lucy said happily, "I'm just glad you're okay!"

Natsu smiled at Lucy.

Lucy, then, carefully walked over to the side of the boat with SE-Plug and attached it to herself.

"You ready to go, hopefully, find everyone then?" Lucy asked cheerily.

"You bet!" Natsu said, grinning.

.

.

.

 **Once they were at the site Tenrou Island used to be at…**

"This is definitely the spot." Lucy said as she took off the SE-Plug.

"How do you know?" Natsu asked.

"Can't you feel all the magic energy?!" Lucy asked in surprise.

"I guess…" Natsu mumbled.

"Let's try calling out for Mavis." Lucy suggested.

"Okay." Natsu said in agreement.

Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs, "MAAVVVIISS! IT'S ME NATSU! ARE YOU THERE?!"

Lucy let out a yelp, "Are you trying to break my eardrums?!"

Natsu smiled sheepishly, "Sorry!"

Lucy, then, covered ears and shouted at the top of her lungs as well, "MAVIS ARE YOU THERE?! NATSU TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE ON THE ISLAND! COULD YOU PLEASE COME OUT?!"

"OOWWW!" Natsu screamed, "MY EARS!"

"Serves you right!" Lucy told him, smugly.

Natsu felt a presence appear on the boat and he gasped.

"What is it?!" Lucy asked.

"I think Mavis is here!" Natsu said.

"Really?!" Lucy asked.

"Hello Natsu." Mavis spoke sweetly.

It was the same as before, like he was imagining a conversation.

"Uh...Hi Mavis." Natsu said, "This is Lucy." Natsu pointed at Lucy.

Although Lucy could not see or hear Mavis she took Natsu's word for it and asked, "Mavis are our friends alive?!"

Mavis nodded, "Yep!"

Natsu's eyes lit up, "Really?! Where are they?!"

"They're alive?" Lucy asked, her spirits rising.

"Yeah!" Natsu told Lucy enthusiastically.

"I was able to convert the bonds of trust and friendship into pure magic power. Their bonds were so strong that Fairy sphere was activated, one of the three grand fairy spells.

They sealed themselves and Tenrou island away with this spell." Mavis explained, "After you left the island, Fairy Tail was able to defeat Grimoire Heart, but… the black dragon,

Acnologia came to the island and attacked…" Mavis continued sadly.

Natsu gasped, "But everyone's okay right?!"

"What are you guys talking about?!" Lucy asked, worriedly.

"Yes everyone is fine, they are just sealed away." Mavis told Natsu.

"Well how do we unseal them?!" Natsu demanded.

"Tell me what you're talking about!" Lucy whined.

"Normally the spell would last seven years." Mavis explained.

"WHAT?!" Natsu shouted.

"What's going oooonn?!" Lucy asked desperately.

"... But I believe with the amount of magic you have you could undo the seal early." Mavis said hopefully.

"How?" Natsu asked.

"I want you to focus all of your magic energy in the direction in front of you." Mavis instructed.

Natsu nodded and began to do so.

"What are you doing Natsu?!" Lucy asked, confused.

"Mavis told me to focus all of my magic energy ahead of me." Natsu explained.

"Now." Mavis said, "Focus all your energy in one attack, It doesn't matter which one, but use every drop of magic you can!"

"Alright!" Natsu shouted in reply.

Although Natsu had never used any other black magic besides the teleportation spell before a new spell came to him, one that he knew would work.

A black orb appeared in Natsu's hand and he threw it as hard as he could. It got bigger as it traveled until finally it hit something.

"What?!" Lucy said shouting in surprise.

There was a booming sound and lights shot of the water and then Tenrou island began to rise out as well.

"Oh my god!" Lucy said in shock

"IT WORKED!" Natsu shouted happily.

"YAY!" Mavis said.

Natsu looked back at Mavis with a grin, "Thank you so much!"

"No problem!" Mavis said, giving him a thumbs up.

Natsu turned back to Lucy as she was putting the SE-Plug back on, but he started to wobble and Lucy caught him, "Be careful! You probably just used practically all of your magic energy!"

Natsu grinned, "I'll be fine!"

 _He's so much happier than when I first met him…_ Mavis thought, smiling, _I wonder if this is what he used to be like or if this is someone else entirely… He did say he switched_

 _places with someone else, but whatever! I'm just glad I'm getting to see this._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 **Once they landed on the island…**

Natsu jumped out of the boat.

"How are you already standing up just fine!?" Lucy asked, surprised.

"I don't know I guess my magic just replenished quickly." Natsu told her.

"Also how did you know how to use that spell anyway?" Lucy questioned.

"I don't know…" Natsu answered, "It just came to me."

"Weird." Lucy said, "Anyway how are we going to find everybody? This island is huge!"

"Oh! I'll lead you guys to them!" Mavis said cheerily, "Just follow wherever my presence is stronger!"

"Thanks!" Natsu said happily.

"What?" Lucy asked curiously.

Natsu looked back at Lucy, "Mavis says she'll lead us to them so just follow me!"

Lucy nodded happily, "Great!"

Mavis started leading the way while the two followed.

.

.

.

As they were walking Lucy spoke up, "I can't wait until we see Erza, Gray, Wendy and all the others!"

"Who's Gray?" Natsu asked, confused.

Lucy looked at Natsu with an "are you serious?" look.

"What?!" Natsu said defensively, "I don't know who he is!"

Lucy broke a sweat, "Stop joking around Natsu, it's not funny."

"I'm not joking around!" Natsu insisted, "Am I supposed to know who he is?"

"Yeah you are!" Lucy shouted, "Gray, Gray Fullbuster! You and him fight a lot, he strips, uses ice maker magic, and has been in Fairy Tail with you and Erza since you were

kids!"

"Doesn't ring any bells, but he sounds like a weirdo." Natsu said.

Lucy stopped walking. _No way… How.. How did he forget Gray?!_

Mavis shouted back at them from the top of a small hill, "Natsu! Lucy! I see one of them!"

"Really?!" Natsu shouted back happily.

"Yeah!" Replied Mavis.

Natsu grabbed Lucy, who was in shock at finding out Natsu didn't remember Gray, and dragged her over to the top of the hill.

Then Natsu looked down and saw… Zeref, knocked out cold. Natsu inhaled sharply.

"...Zeref…" Natsu muttered, eyes starting to water. He remembered what he had told himself earlier, that he was Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel, and that he didn't have a

younger brother, but he knew that he did and that this precious younger brother of his was only feet away on the ground.

Natsu took a deep breath in when he felt the familiar twinge of pain in his head. He quickly let go of Lucy and teleported away to another section of the island.

Lucy didn't react to this and was left standing there in shock. _He must have been joking, there's no other way._ Lucy thought. _Although not a nice one, it was just a joke._

As Lucy waited for Natsu to reappear she managed to convince herself that Natsu was just messing with her and she calmed down.

Natsu reappeared and practically flew down the cliff.

"Ack! Natsu wait for me!" Lucy shouted.

Natsu paused, "Lucy why don't you go look for the others over there?" Natsu said as he pointed away from where Zeref was.

"Oh, um okay?" Lucy said, "You sure you want to deal with Zeref on your own?"

"Yeah I'll be fine." Natsu reassured her.

"Alright then." Lucy said as she ran off to find the others.

Natsu knelt beside Zeref and shook him gently.

"Zeref… Hey Zeref!" Natsu said.

Emotions were beginning to overwhelm Natsu, that's why he sent Lucy away.

Natsu started to cry with happiness, but tried to wipe the tears away, because he was sure Zeref would freak out if he woke up to a crying Natsu.

Zeref groaned and his eyes blinked open to see Natsu above him.

Zeref sprang up and snarled, "It's you!"

Natsu flinched.

Zeref's eyes floated down to see Natsu's scarf, "Give it back."

Natsu came back to reality and said, "No way!"

Zeref grabbed it and yanked it off, but that wasn't the only thing that came with it, the locket did too.

"No!" Natsu shouted as he saw the locket fall to the ground and snap open, the picture of the two brothers out in the open for all to see...

* * *

 _A/N: I don't know why I put all of this into one chapter, but I did. Hope you all enjoyed! :D If you have questions or comments by the way let me know!_


	18. Brothers

_A/N: I forgot to mention that I had to change something on Chapter 15, because I realized what I wrote didn't work. If you can guess what it is, tell me what you think. I'll give a shout out to anyone who guesses it before I post chapter 19. Also, don't worry I'll tell you guys what it is next chapter! :)_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 **Chapter 18**

Brothers

 _Zeref groaned and his eyes blinked open to see Natsu above him._

 _Zeref sprang up and snarled, "It's you!"_

 _Natsu flinched._

 _Zeref's eyes floated down to see Natsu's scarf, "Give it back."_

 _Natsu came back to reality and said, "No way!"_

 _Zeref grabbed it and yanked it off, but that wasn't the only thing that came with it, the locket did too._

" _No!" Natsu shouted as he saw the locket fall to the ground and snap open, the picture of the two brothers out in the open for all to see…_

* * *

Natsu quickly reached down and snatched up the locket.

"What was that?" Zeref asked accusingly.

"Nothing!" Natsu said hastily.

"No I'm sure I saw something." Zeref insisted.

"And I'm telling you it was nothing!" Natsu, too, insisted.

Zeref narrowed his eyes and held out his hand, "Give it to me."

Natsu stepped back, "No way! How about you give my scarf back!"

Zeref scoffed, "In your dreams! Now give me that locket!"

Natsu and Zeref proceeded to yell at each other while chasing each other in circles.

Off to the side a voice spoke sleepily, "What's all the noise about Zeref?"

"Happy!" Zeref and Natsu said in unison. After hearing their synchronization the two butted heads.

"Don't copy me Pinky!" Zeref demanded.

"Me copying you? Why don't you stop copying me you scarf stealer!" Natsu sneered.

"It's Natsu!" Happy gasped in surprise, "Oh you got your scarf back too!" Happy said eyeing the scarf around Zeref's neck as he used his aera magic to fly up.

Natsu lunged at Zeref, "Why don't you give that back!"

"Oh no you don't!" Happy said as he head butted Natsu.

"Nice going little buddy!" Zeref said encouragingly.

"What the heck Happy?" Natsu said rubbing his forehead.

"How do you know his name anyway?!" Zeref demanded.

"I don't feel like explaining, it'd take too long." Natsu whined.

"You are so infuriating!" Zeref said, annoyed.

At that moment Lucy ran back towards the group of three.

"Natsu I found the rest of them!" Lucy shouted.

Zeref and Happy's eyes lit up and they both shouted, "Lucy! You're okay!"

However Zeref's face fell when Lucy looked at him coldly. Lucy was using him to vent all her frustrations about Natsu's situation. However Natsu saw Lucy give Zeref the look too and some sort of brotherly protection came over him and he said, "Luce don't be mean to Zeref!"

Lucy looked at Natsu in confusion. Natsu covered his mouth. _Did I really just say that?!_ Natsu thought in shock.

Zeref and Happy looked stunned too.

Lucy shook off her disbelief and decided to make light of the situation by saying, "What? Did you guys become BFF's in the five minutes I was gone?"

Natsu's face went red and he shouted in defiance, "N-No!"

"Yeah why would I ever want be friends with him?!" Zeref said, annoyed.

Natsu's face fell at those words and Lucy picked up on it. Whatever was going on she was going support Natsu in his decisions, she didn't have any right to stop him from being friends with Zeref, though she didn't know why he would want to.

So, in support, lucy said, "Because Natsu's caring, brave, courageous, funny, and an idiot sometimes…"

"Hey!" Natsu cried in indignation.

Lucy continued, "...But for me it adds to his charm!"

Natsu face turned beet red when he heard that, "Uhh.. thanks." He managed to say.

Zeref frowned.

"Anyway," Lucy said, "I found the rest of the guild! Let's go over to them!"

"Right!" Natsu said, as he put the locket back on.

Happy and Zeref exchanged glances, but just decided to roll with it.

So the four of them headed over to the rest of the guild.

.

.

.

Once they got there Natsu stayed behind the other three.

"Who's that?" Wendy asked nervously.

Elfman and Evergreen gave each other a look.

Lucy grabbed Natsu by the shoulders from behind and pushed him forward.

"Hey! Luce!" Natsu cried nervously.

Lucy ignored Natsu's defiance and introduced him, "This is Natsu!"

Everyone gasped and some took a defensive stance.

Natsu looked at everyone sadly and said, "Don't worry… I won't try anything…"

Lucy frowned, "He's not going to bite."

 _No, but my curse might._ Natsu thought bitterly.

"But he's the one who changed your memory Lucy!" Cana said angrily.

"My memory hasn't been tampered with at all!" Lucy cried in indignation.

"How do you know for sure Lucy?" Gray said, "None of us noticed when Doranbolt infiltrated our guild."

"Same goes for you!" Lucy shouted angrily.

During the argument Zeref was slowing sneaking up behind Natsu, itching to get the locket.

Suddenly Zeref pulled back on the locket.

Natsu gagged, "Zeref… you're... Choking…"

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted in surprise.

Zeref quickly undid the clip in the back and took the locket, "Aha!" Zeref shouted in triumph.

"No Zeref give it back!" Natsu cried out surprise.

Zeref was about to open it when Natsu tackled him while shouting, "Give it back!"

Natsu managed to nab locket and his scarf; he quickly sprinted back to Lucy.

Natsu grinned playfully, "Quick Luce! Hide me!"

Zeref charged the two and Lucy squealed in terror.

The rest of the guild watched in surprise.

Zeref pounced on Natsu and grabbed the scarf, as it was top priority over the locket.

Natsu and Zeref started playing tug of war with it.

Levy started giggling hysterically, "Zeref is playing tug of war with the dark wizard!"

Gajeel smirked, "Zeref will fight anyone who takes his scarf."

"It's MY scarf!" Natsu shouted back, annoyed. Zeref rolled his eyes.

Happy grinned evilly, "You want his necklace right Zeref?"

"Yeah!" Zeref shouted in response.

"Well I'll get it for ya!" Happy said as he dive bombed Natsu.

He ripped the necklace out of Natsu's hand. This cause Natsu to loosen his grip on the scarf allowing Zeref to get it.

"Nice going Happy!" Zeref said, giving Happy a thumbs up.

"Aye sir!" Happy said grinning.

"No! Come on Happy! Give it back!" Natsu whined, loudly.

"No way!" Happy said, teasingly, "Here Zeref! Catch!" Happy threw the locket to Zeref.

Natsu started to run at Zeref, but Happy swooped him off the ground.

"No Happy let me down!" Natsu demanded.

All the play fighting had loosed the mood and Natsu saw everyone grinning at him and Zeref. Natsu flashed back a smile.

But then… a familiar pain struck Natsu and panic flooded his face, "HAPPY PUT ME DOWN NOW!"

"No way, think I'll let you trick me?" Happy said, not hearing the seriousness in Natsu's voice

Lucy gasped and was almost screeching when she shouted, "HAPPY YOU HAVE TO PUT HIM DOWN NOW!"

Shocked, Happy accidentally dropped Natsu, but he disappeared before he could hit the ground.

The mood was no longer cheerful as everyone looked at Lucy.

"Lucy what was that about?" Erza asked seriously.

"It's… A long story…" Lucy said quietly. She didn't want them to be wary of Natsu after the guild seemed to be warming up to him.

Off to the side Zeref gasped, he had opened the locket.

"What is it?" Carla asked.

"N-Nothing." Zeref said, as he closed the locket. He was going to have to have a talk with Natsu when he got back…

Carla frowned suspiciously.

Lucy spoke up, "Everyone, if Natsu tells you to let go of him, just know he has a good reason and to let go, okay?"

"Very well." Erza said nodding. The rest of the group nodded, but were silent.

Then, Natsu reappeared. Zeref eyed Natsu.

Lucy smiled, "You're back!"

Natsu grinned Sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm sorry for yelling at you Happy."  
Nervously, Happy said, "Uh… it's fine…"

"Oh!" Lucy said, "Me too Happy, sorry!"

"It's fine Lucy." Happy replied.

"Natsu." Zeref said seriously, "We need to talk."

"Okay?" Natsu said, confused. Zeref tossed the locket back to Natsu and nodded.

Natsu inhaled sharply. _He looked inside!_

"Uh… Luce I'm going to go talk with Zeref…" Natsu said timidly.

"Alright." Lucy said, worried.

Gray spoke up, "Now wait just a second, is it really safe to left Zeref go off alone with Natsu?"

Natsu turned his head towards the voice, he didn't recognize it.

Makarov spoke, "Why are you so worried Gray? Zeref can take care of himself."

 _This was the Gray Lucy was talking about earlier?_ Natsu thought. _If he's a member of Fairy Tail why don't I remember him?_ The thought greatly worried Natsu.

"I know that, but Natsu is the one who created Deliora! Even if he seems nice he's just acting!" Gray shouted angrily.

"I never did anything like that!" Natsu cried, "And I'm not acting!"

Gray glared at Natsu.

Zeref spoke softly, but Natsu could still hear him, "Natsu…"

Natsu nodded, "Look I'm going to go talk with Zeref, I won't do anything crazy so just calm down."  
"I don't think he'll try anything." Zeref said, honestly. _Except try and take my scarf, maybe._ Zeref added to himself.

Natsu felt his chest swell up. _Zeref trusts me!_ Natsu thought happily.

"Fine, whatever." Gray said sighing.

.

.

.

 **Once Natsu and Zeref were farther away…**

"You wanna tell me about the picture in your locket?" Zeref asked seriously.

"I can if you really want me to." Natsu said, giving in.

"Alright, then explain why you have a picture of the two of us." Zeref demanded.

 _It was only a couple of days ago that I wouldn't have been able to answer that._ Natsu though.

"Well… When I tell you just promise you won't tell Lucy." Natsu said. Zeref stiffened.

"Why?" Zeref asked, suspiciously.

"I don't want to burden Lucy with my problems anymore that I already have." Natsu explained. Zeref relaxed.

"Fine I promise." Zeref said, "Now. Explain."

Natsu spoke quietly, "I'm pretty sure that… you're my... younger brother…"

Zeref sat down against a tree. _There's no way! I can't be Natsu's brother he's been alive for over 400 years!_ Zeref thought in disbelief.

"All I know..." Natsu continued timidly, "Is that you are my younger brother, that you died at some point and I had been trying to bring you back."

"What'd you mean I died at some point?!" Zeref asked, his temper rising.

"I've… I've been having dreams…" Natsu explained, "In one I saw you die and in the other I was trying to bring you back to life…"

"Shouldn't YOU remember all this?!" Zeref asked angrily. He stood up, "How do you not remember your own past?!"

"I'm sorry!" Natsu said loudly, "I'm sure Lucy told you that YOU took my place!"

"What?" Zeref snarled. _He knew what Natsu was talking about, but bringing it up infuriated him._

Natsu flinched and then his anger started to rise up as well, "I don't remember anything about being a dark wizard, but I DO remember being a part of Fairy Tail and I DO remember Igneel!"

A silence washed over the two...

Zeref Broke the silence, "How is this possible…?" He said almost as quiet as whisper, but after his voice raised considerably, "HOW IS IT THAT YOU REMEMBER MY LIFE, BUT NOT YOUR OWN?!"

"THIS ISN'T MY LIFE!" Natsu shouted back, his voice cracking.

Natsu's voice shrunk back down to a whisper, "...but I think it's becoming mine…"

Zeref's face contorted with confusion, "How?"

Natsu spoke, "Now that I think about it, Lucy was really shocked when I said I didn't remember Gray… I think I was supposed to know him, but I don't know he is!"

Natsu started crying, making Zeref take step back, "I think my own memory is being replaced by 'your' memory!"

"It's. not. my. memory." Zeref snarled.

Natsu's breath hitched, "...I remember you… and it's confusing… Part of me hates you, but another half has all sorts of feeling for you… and I don't know how to sort it out..."

There were two possibilities that Zeref decided could be going on here. One, that Natsu and Lucy were correct or two, that Natsu and Lucy had their memories tampered with. Zeref prefered the last one.

Zeref didn't know how to handle the situation and so he said, "I'm leaving. Follow if you want."

Natsu cried out, "Wait! Little brother!

Zeref stopped, "What did you just call me?"

Natsu flinched, "S-Sorry it just came out…"

Zeref looked back at Natsu and sighed. He proceeded to walk back over to Natsu. Natsu looked up at Zeref, tears still in his eyes.

Zeref held out his hand. Natsu didn't do anything, but stare.

Zeref sighed louder, "Come on…" Natsu's face lit up and he jumped up, hugging Zeref.

"Too much!" Zeref said as he pushed Natsu off.

Natsu grinned sheepishly and then the two headed back to the others.

Zeref sighed inwardly. _I swear... it's like he's bipolar or something._

* * *

 _A/N: Soo how'd you guys like it? Too anyone who already read the chapter before I changed it, screw it I'm not using Japanese words! I'm sticking to English XD_ _Alright bye! :D_


	19. A decision

_A/N: I have a question for you guys at the end of the chapter, answer if you want!_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters_

 **Chapter 19**

A decision

 _Zeref looked back at Natsu and sighed. He proceeded to walk back over to Natsu. Natsu looked up at Zeref, tears still in his eyes._

 _Zeref held out his hand. Natsu didn't do anything, but stare._

 _Zeref sighed louder, "Come on…" Natsu's face lit up and he jumped up, hugging Zeref._

" _Too much!" Zeref said as he pushed Natsu off._

 _Natsu grinned sheepishly and then the two headed back to the others._

 _Zeref sighed inwardly. I swear... it's like he's bipolar or something._

* * *

Although Natsu was the older brother he was trailing behind Zeref like a lost puppy.

It sure was a sight to see when Lucy bumped into the two.

Lucy could barely register what she was looking at and shook her head to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

As soon as Natsu saw Lucy he realized what he had been doing and recoiled, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!" He said in a comically horrified tone.

"STUPID BRAIN!" Natsu said as he punched himself in the face.

Zeref scooted away towards Lucy and whispered, "I think he's bipolar…"

Lucy just kept staring in confusion.

Natsu had started hitting his head against a tree while yelling at himself.

Lucy couldn't think of how to respond to what she was seeing, "...Uh...what is? ...eh?" Her head drooped and she sighed.

Zeref rubbed his temples. _I don't what possessed me to give him my help…_

Natsu suddenly whipped around, "ZEREF!" Natsu shouted.

Zeref looked at Natsu nervously, "...yeah…?"

Natsu pointed at Zeref and shouted, "You are going to forget everything I told you!"

Zeref looked at Natsu in disbelief, then grew angry, "Why you…! You can't just say that after dropping all of _that_ on me!"

"I can and I will!" Natsu said crossing his arms.

"What did he tell you?" Lucy asked Zeref, curious.

Natsu sprinted between them, "Nothing!"

Lucy took a good long look at Natsu, "Why so suspicious?" Lucy asked skeptically.

Natsu was practically sweating buckets, "No reason!" He squeaked out.

Lucy grumbled, "Well I'm keeping my eye on you Natsu. If something's wrong I want to know! You're important to me!"

Zeref frowned and Natsu looked at his feet. He didn't like lying to Lucy.

Lucy sighed, "Well anyway, I was coming to get you guys!"

"What for?" Zeref asked.

"Fairy Tail's ship is pretty close to the island, the one Natsu and I sent for, I mean." Lucy explained.

"Great!" Natsu said. _Now I don't have to teleport everyone back!_ He thought happily.

"Oh, also I told everyone what happened during the week everyone was gone." Lucy added.

"Wait what?!" Zeref asked in disbelief, "We were gone for a week?!"

"Yeah." Natsu answered, "I think Mavis said you guys activated one of the three grain fairy spells, Fairy spear or something."

Lucy looked at Natsu in disbelief, "It's the three GRAND fairy spells and it's called Fairy SPHERE."

"Same thing." Natsu said.

"Actually it's not." Zeref added in.

Natsu glared at Zeref and mumbled, "...know-it-all's…"

"Anyway," Lucy said, "Let's head back to the others.

 **As they were walking…**

Natsu stood just behind Lucy and Zeref as they walked in silence.

Natsu looked at the two and smiled warmly. Whether they were his memories or not they made him feel like Zeref was just as important as Lucy. Natsu silently cursed himself for feeling that way.

Pain struck Natsu, _This one's coming fast!_ Natsu thought fearfully. He wasn't able to say anything before he teleported away.

Zeref stopped, no longer hearing Natsu's footsteps, "Where'd he go?" He asked, confused. _It's just like that time with Happy…_ Zeref thought.

"If Natsu wants you guys to know, he'll tell you." Lucy explained, sighing. _Though he should've said something before he left…_ She added silently.

Zeref frowned.

.

.

.

 **With Natsu…**

Natsu was sitting against one of the trees he killed.

"They're coming faster… and with less warning." Natsu muttered nervously. _The one with Happy was a really close call_. _If another fast one like this happens while someone's holding on to me will I end up killing them?_ Natsu thought, distressed.

He spoke allowed, "I hate this curse…"

 _If I kill any of my friends I won't deserve to live…_

Natsu sat for a little while longer before standing up and teleporting back.

.

.

.

Natsu reappeared.

"What took you?" Lucy asked, concerned.

"I… uh…" Natsu couldn't think of a good excuse. Like hell he was going to tell Lucy he was beating himself over the curse.

Lucy looked at Natsu suspiciously and Zeref joined her.

Natsu shifted uncomfortably and Lucy sighed. She knew he didn't have to tell her, but she didn't want him to keep everything bottled up.

Lucy reached out and grabbed Natsu's hand and smiled, "It doesn't matter."

Natsu's face lit up; he was glad she wasn't mad him. However Zeref's face fell at the exchange. While he now knew a new side of Natsu, that didn't change the fact that Natsu had taken his place.

.

.

.

As the trio returned Zeref's face was somber.

"What took you so long smarty pants?" Gray asked, "We were about to leave without you."

"Not in the mood Gray." Zeref said, shooting him a look.

Gray grimaced and turned his attention to Natsu and accusingly said, "What'd you say to him, dark wizard?"

Natsu frowned, this shirtless guy, Gray he recalled, was getting on his nerves, "None of your business you pervert!"  
"What'd you say?!" Gray yelled back in anger.

Lucy smiled. _He can't NOT remember Gray. They're acting like they always do!_

Zeref gazed longingly at Lucy. He really wished that she remember him, so that they could be a team just like they always were. He really wanted to blame Natsu as well, but after seeing the dark wizard breakdown if front of him he didn't know if he could anymore.

.

.

.

Happy flew down to greet Zeref and Lucy as they boarded and Natsu and Gray continued their fight as they boarded the ship. However they were swiftly interrupted by Alzack shouting, "NATSU! LUCY! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

Lucy was flustered, "It's fine! R-Really! You don't need to be worried!"

Natsu chimed in, "You were only doing what you thought was best for the guild."

Alzack breathed a deep sigh of relief, "If there is anything I can do to make it up to you, please let me know!"

Natsu grinned, "Just keep the guild safe!"

"That's a given!" Alzack said. After that he walked off to talk to the others.

"What was that about?" Zeref asked.

"It's complicated…" Lucy said as she held her right hand.

That is when Zeref noticed. _Her guild mark…_

Zeref grabbed Lucy's right hand and shouted, "WHERE IS YOUR GUILD MARK?!"

Everyone turned to face the two, Happy looked horrified.

Lucy flinched, trying to pull away, and muttered, "...When they told Natsu to leave I said that I couldn't be a part of Fairy Tail without him and erased my guild mark…"

Zeref looked like he was about to yell again, but he didn't, instead he started crying, "Why… Why can't you just come back to me? Why was it only me you forgot?" Zeref sunk down his knees.

Happy's eyes watered, "...Zeref…"

Lucy didn't know what to say, she had no words. Everyone else watched in shock. Natsu wanted to help, but there was nothing he could say… It was his fault his little brother was suffering... _No! It's not my fault! I didn't choose for this to happen!_ Natsu thought in defiance to his own thoughts. His temper rose, he understood that Zeref was upset, but dumping all this on Lucy wasn't the right way to go about it. Natsu regretted every time he broke down in front of her and he was sure that, once Zeref calmed down, he would regret it too.

"You need to man up." Natsu said, it was time for tough love, "I understand that you're upset, really I do, but this wasn't Lucy's choice, or my choice. We can't do anything about it right now. Those old memories aren't there so, why don't you focus on making new ones instead?"

Zeref looked up at Natsu, realization striking him. _What am I doing? ...Wimping out and crying in front of Lucy… What's wrong with me?_

Zeref took a deep breath, wiped away the tears from his eyes and stood up. Lucy still looked at him, mouth agape.

"Lucy." Zeref started, looking Lucy in the eyes.

Hearing her name brought Lucy back into reality, "yes?" She squeaked out.

"I'm really sorry… Since you don't remember me I should be making a good first impression. I'm sorry for pushing this all on you, I hope we can become friends." Zeref said with sincerity.

Lucy nodded nervously, "...Sure…"

Any tension in the air seemed dissipate and everyone relaxed. Everyone slowly went back to chatting.

"Thank you Natsu." Zeref whispered quietly. Natsu grinned.

Romeo ran up to Zeref and hugged him, "Zeref!"

"Romeo!" Zeref said, looking down at Romeo warmly.

Romeo looked from Zeref to Natsu and then, out of the blue, asked, "Natsu said that his last name was Dragneel too, so are you guys family?"

Natsu and Zeref froze in unison.

Zeref quickly stuttered, "N-No! He just has my memories I guess he, um he thinks his last name is Dragneel too!"

"That doesn't make sense." Romeo stated, suspicious.

Natsu laughed nervously and lied, "But it's true…"

Lucy however was not fooled one bit by their terrible lying. While the reasoning kind of made sense, she guessed, they were acting WAY too suspicious.

Lucy walked up to Natsu and whispered, "You aren't family are you?" She knew that it made no sense for them to be family, but why else would they act so nervous at the question?

Natsu shook his head furiously. If he told Lucy the truth he was sure she would ask how he knew and then he would have to tell her about the dreams and the locket.

"Well okay, but… nevermind." Lucy sighed, letting Natsu off the hook.

Natsu and Zeref sighed in relief and Lucy grimaced.

Then the boat began to move and they were off.

.

.

.

 **As they were almost back at Magnolia…**

Natsu and Gray had started fighting again and Zeref was dying from motion sickness on the floor.

"...Wendy…" Zeref said feebly, "...help…"

"Oh my gosh! Zeref I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention! Have you been like this the whole ride?!" Wendy said apologetically.

Zeref whimpered.

"Don't worry I'll use Troia on you!" Wendy said as she cast the spell.

After a couple seconds, Zeref immediately recovered some color in his face and he was able to stand up.

"Thank's so much!" Zeref said gratefully and wandered off to talk to some of the others.

Meanwhile, Natsu and Gray had stopped fighting, because Erza broken it up, so Natsu had just been listening to others talk.

Natsu grinned happily and said to himself, "The only good thing about this situation is that I can ride vehicles without getting sick."

However Wendy overheard the remark and asked, "You get motion sick too?"  
"Usually, but I haven't been getting it recently, I think it's because my senses are dulled…" Natsu explained.

"I guess that makes sense, but why are they dulled?" Wendy asked, confused.

Natsu didn't know whether to answer or not because the whole switch with Zeref seemed to be a sensitive topic for the guild.

"I…" Natsu struggled to say something.

Head put her hands out in front of her and said, "N-No it's fine if you don't want to tell me!"

Natsu smiled slightly, "It's just that, I feel none of you guys are comfortable with me and Lucy's situation and that you wouldn't really want to hear me talk about it."

Wendy smiled sadly, "...Well it's just that Lucy and Zeref used to be so close, they were a team."

Natsu's eyes widened, "How close?!" He demanded.

Wendy realized what he was asking and giggled, "They weren't dating, if that's what you want to know."

Natsu blushed and grumbled quietly.

Wendy giggled and then said, "You're nothing like how I imagined the dark wizard to be!"

Natsu's mood changed to a more somber one. "I don't think I would have imagined me to be like this either." Natsu said, laughing softly.

 _He has this melancholy feel about him…_ Wendy thought sadly. She liked it when it people smiled and believed that everyone had a good side to them.

"Wendy!" Carla said demandingly, "Do not associate with that creep! I don't trust him!"

Natsu glared out to sea in annoyance and thought, _Could she be any more blunt?_ He was starting to get used to the comments and while it did bother him, now, it just irked him more than made it made him sad.

"Carla he's not a bad person!" Wendy said, frustrated.

"And how would you know child?!" Carla asked angrily.

"I just do!" Wendy exclaimed.

Zeref walked backed towards the three guild mates, overhearing their conversation.

"Natsu isn't all that bad Carla." Zeref told her.

 _The "highest" compliment one can get._ Natsu thought sarcastically.

"I thought you'd be the one most against him!" Carla exclaimed.

"I don't think it was his fault anymore." Zeref explained, "He seemed just as upset as the rest of us when we had our talk."

"Very well…" Carla said in resignation, "...But what did the two of you talk about anyway?"  
"It's personal." Zeref said. Carla frowned, but didn't say anymore.

.

.

.

 **Once they were back on land…**

"Everyone let's go back to the guild hall!" Romeo shouted excitedly.

"Right!" A few shouted in return.

Everyone started hurrying back to the guild hall, but Natsu and Lucy fell behind.

"Do we go with them…?" Lucy said trailing off.

"...Or leave?" Natsu finished.

Lucy walked next to Natsu and said, "I don't think that they would let us go look for a way to replace Zeref…"  
"Me neither…" Natsu replied.

Then, a few of the others came running back towards the two. It was Erza, Gray, Zeref and Happy.

"Jeez we were worried you two had run off!" Gray said.

Lucy and Natsu looked at their feet.

Erza looked at the two and, with understanding in her voice, said, "...You were going to weren't you? Alzack told me you had been looking for the spell book to reverse the spell, but that it's gone."

Lucy nodded and said, "I promised Natsu that we would…"

Happy frowned.

"Listen up!" Zeref announced, getting the groups attention, "I believe that my memories with Lucy and everyone else are real! So I've decided I will help you look for the book to prove that they are!"

"What if the memories aren't real?" Natsu asked.

"If I've taken your place then I think… I think that you would deserve it back... But, let me make it clear, I don't think that is the case!" Zeref told Natsu.

"But Zeref isn't that dangerous?!" Happy said worriedly.

"Do you think that the memories of me are fake?" Zeref asked.

"No!" Happy said hurriedly.

"Me neither." Gray added.

"I don't think so either." Erza said smiling.

"Zeref… I don't know what to say…" Lucy said, "...but thank you."

Natsu ran up and tackled Zeref in a hug, "You're the best!"  
Lucy and the others looked surprised for a little bit, but soon started to laugh.

Zeref tried to push Natsu off and impatiently said, "Okay Natsu that's enough."

"Let's head back to the guild and tell them we will be heading out." Erza said.

"Agreed, we don't want to leave everyone hanging." Gray said.

Natsu and Lucy nodded determinedly.

.

.

.

 **At the guild…**

"So the four of you are going with Natsu and Lucy to look for this book?" Makarov asked.

Erza nodded. Many of the other guild mates around them look concerned or disgruntled at the thought of helping the dark wizard as many still did not trust him.

"Yes." Erza confirmed.

"And Zeref you're aware of what will happen if Lucy and Natsu are correct?"

"I am." Zeref said, "And I'm willing to take that risk."

"I'm with Zeref no matter what he chooses to do!" Happy said loyally.

Makarov sighed, "Alight children just promise that you stay safe."

"Don't worry Gramps, we'll be fine! The dark wizard is just a hot headed idiot anyway." Gray said.

"What'd you just say, you streaker?!" Natsu said, storming up to Gray.

"See?" Gray said trying to keep a cool head.

Makarov sighed, "Well alright."

Wendy raised her hand and shouted, "I want to go too!"

"Wendy!" Carla exclaimed in surprise.

"Please! Natsu isn't a bad person and I want to help resolve this problem!" Wendy begged.

"You'll do no such thing!" Carla exclaimed.

"Yes I will Carla!" Wendy insisted.

Natsu had stopped trying to attack Gray and said, "I don't mind."

"Yeah, it'll be fun to bring Wendy and Carla along." Zeref said.

"Who said I was going?!" Carla demanded.

"I just know from experience." Zeref told her.

"Come on Carla it'll be fun!" Happy said encouragingly

"No it will not! Do you not understand the gravity of what we are doing?! Zeref could no longer be a part of this guild if we do this!" Carla shouted.

Zeref knelt down next to Carla and said, "I get that, but I believe that my memories are real, but… if they're not and I indirectly took Natsu's family away from him… Who am I to say that he can't have them back?"

"That's true for me too." Natsu told her. _If it ended up being that my memories were the fake ones I wouldn't want to take my little brothers life away from him either._

Zeref looked up at Natsu in surprise.

"You too are such idiots, but I understand where you are coming from." Carla sighed, "...Very well, I'll come with…"

Lucy looked at Zeref and Natsu. _I don't think I'd be able to accept it if Natsu was actually always the dark wizard…_ Lucy thought, … _Natsu has always been a part of Fairy Tail and I'll make sure to prove it._

"Lucy?" Natsu said, his voice bringing Lucy back into the land of the living.

Lucy raised her head in surprise, "Yeah?"

"I'm going to go talk with Bisca before I go… I want to apologize…" Natsu told everyone.

"Alright I'll wait here." Lucy told him.

"We'll leave when you get back." Erza said.

"Kay'!" Natsu said as he walked over to the infirmary and peaked inside.

Bisca was awake, but seemed to be spacing out.

"Um… Bisca, you awake?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu!" Bisca said turning her head in surprise after hearing his voice.

"Bisca I'm really sorry that I got you hurt!" Natsu said apologetically.

"It's fine." Bisca said reassuringly, "I was the one who wanted to know what you were doing, I could tell you were just trying to protect me when you pushed me."  
Natsu sighed in relief, "I'm glad… and you're getting better?"

"Yep!" Bisca said, "I have some broken bones so I just have to wait for those to heal, but other than that I'm good!"

"I'm glad it wasn't worse that that." Natsu said.

"Me too." Bisca told him.

"Well… I have to go, me and a couple others are going to look for the book." Natsu said. He started to leave.

"Natsu…" Bisca said, quietly.

"Yeah?" Natsu asked, turning back around.

"...I want you, Lucy and Zeref to be happy. I don't know what'll happen when the book is found, but just promise me that you'll support each other, okay?" Bisca asked him.

"Don't worry I'll make sure of that!" Natsu said giving Bisca a grin, "Well I'm going now!"

Natsu left the infirmary.

 _He's such a good kid…_ Bisca thought. _I hope that he can always be that happy…_

.

.

.

 **Outside of the guild…**

"Alright we're heading out!" Gray said to the rest of the guild.

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia called out frantically.

"Bye Juvia." Gray told her.

"Zeref I wish you the best of luck!" Lisanna shouted.

"Thanks Lisanna!" Zeref said grinning.

"We hope to see you all soon!" Erza told everyone.

"Good luck Lucy!" Levy called out.

"Thanks!" Lucy said happily.

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia called desperately, again.

"Bye Lily!" Happy called out.

"Good bye Happy!" Lily called back.

Everyone else waved goodbye and the group of eight set off.

Lily looked up at Gajeel, "You know I'm surprised you didn't asked to go."

"Someone has to keep the crazy chick in check." Gajeel said as he held Juvia back from running after the group.

"Let Juvia go to Gray-sama!" Juvia begged.

"They have a large enough team already." Gajeel told her, "And Gray's a big boy he can take care of himself."

"But Juvia wants to go to Gray-sama!" Juvia said, now eating her shirt and crying.

"Have a little more faith in the guy." Gajeel told her.

"Juvia has complete faith in Gray!" Juvia protested.

"Then you should be able to handle not being with him for a little bit." Gajeel said annoyed.

"Juvia knows." Juvia said, "But Juvia's love rival is with Gray!"

Gajeel sighed in annoyance, "Let's go inside."

"NOOO!" Juvia cried as Gajeel yanked her into the guild hall.

"I won't let you go and bother them. Lily help me out here!" Gajeel commanded.

"Of course." Lily said, running over to help Gajeel.

.

.

.

 **Meanwhile...**

"Even though I am in Fiore, finding his majesty will prove to be harder than I thought…" A man said to himself.

 _I will have to start asking around…_ The man thought _...Though I don't know how effective that will be..._

* * *

 _A/N: This took way longer to write than it should've, I was procrastinating WAY too much._

 _Question: Are there any ways that you guys really DON'T want this story to end in. I already have an idea in mind (don't worry it's I'm pretty sure it's_

 _not ending soon), but I just want to know if you guys really don't want something to happen. If a lot of you don't clash with what I chose then I'll keep_

 _what I have otherwise I'll come up with something else. Let me know!_


	20. To Protect

_A/N: Thanks for all the answers to my question! They were much appreciated and very helpful! :)_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters_

 **Chapter 20**

To Protect

 _Wendy, Carla, Erza, Gray, Happy, Zeref, Lucy and Natsu had all just left Fairy Tail in search of the spell book that caused the whole predicament._

* * *

"So where are we going to look for the book first?" Carla asked, as they walked towards the train station, unbeknownst to Zeref.

"Well, Natsu and I figured that the book was probably sold off to a dark guild or less likely, a library." Lucy told everyone.

"It is more likely to have been sold to a dark guild." Erza said, "We should find and interrogate such members."

"Seems like a solid plan." Zeref said.

"Which one should we start with?" Gray asked.

"The biggest guild is Tartaros, however it would be very dangerous to go there and almost impossible to find them…" Erza said.

"Well we could always find other dark guilds first and ask them if they know anything about Tartaros's whereabouts." Wendy suggestion.

"So we're going to go around beating up dark guilds until we find the book?" Natsu asked eagerly. While Natsu wasn't originally comfortable with going to the dark guild, because of how weak his dragon slayer magic is, he knew that Lucy and the others would be fine with Erza and everyone else being there.

"That is correct!" Happy said.

"So let's go!" Natsu said excitedly.

"Let's choose a target first." Lucy said.

"Let's see… I can recall some of the dark guilds Mira told me about. It was… Naked Mummy..." Gray said.

"Oh! I've fought those guys before!" Lucy interrupted, recalling her fight at Love and Lucky.

"We also fought them during the battle with the Oracion Seis." Gray said before continuing, "There's also Death Head's Caucus, the ones we fought in the tower of heaven, Dark Unicorn and Red Hood, another two from the Oracion Seis, and Succubus Eye, one of Tartaros's underling guilds…"

"Well it seems obvious we should pick succubus eye!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Alright." Erza said, "We'll start wandering to find it, I suppose, and we can crash any other guild along the way."

"Doesn't seem like a very reliable method…" Wendy said nervously.

"Well it's the best we can do for now." Gray said.

"We're almost there!" Carla announced. Although it was obvious she seemed to be the only one paying attention to where they actually were.

"Damn! I totally forgot I was walking!" Gray said.

"How do you do that?" Lucy asked, giving him a look of disbelief.

"Where are we going anyway, I mean I know to a dark guild, but where right now?" Natsu asked.

"The train station." Carla answered.

"What?!" Zeref shouted, "Come on can we PLEASE just walk?!"

"I'll use troia on you Zeref. So don't worry!" Wendy assured him.

"I don't get sick anymore." Natsu sang under his breath.

Wendy giggled, being able to hear him, and Zeref growled, "Well I have the scarf back, must not mean as much to you since you didn't remember."

Natsu looked down at his chest and shouted, "Crap!"

"What?!" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Zeref still has my scarf!" Natsu said angrily.

"It's Zeref's scarf, dark wizard." Gray said without humor.

"Don't be mean Gray!" Wendy demanded.

"It's MY scarf and I'm going to get it back!" Natsu said determinedly.

Natsu charged Zeref and Zeref charged Natsu shouting, "Like I'll let you take it!"

Erza stopped walking and went up to the two and glowered At them. Not noticing they continued to fight.

Erza grabbed Natsu and Zeref by their collar and growled, "You two are going to share."

"No way!" Natsu and Zeref shouted in unison.

"Yes. You. Will." Erza commanded.

Natsu and Zeref gulped.

"I'm not listening to you two fight your way through this journey." Erza told them angrily.

Zeref unwillingly handed Natsu the scarf and happily put it on.

Lucy giggled and Zeref groaned in annoyance. The group started walking again, into the train station.

.

.

.

 **Once they were on the train…**

"Troia! Troia! TROIA!" Wendy cried out, but the spell wouldn't work.

"...Why isn't it making me better…?" Zeref asked feebly.

"I don't know!" Wendy shouted apologetically, "Maybe if I was a better wizard this wouldn't have happened…"

"I don't think you should blame yourself child." Carla said, "I think the spell must have been used on him so many times that he became immune!"

"No way! That can happen?!" Natsu asked in disbelief.

"It appears so." Carla said.

"We made sure to get on a north bound train, right?" Gray asked.

"Yes." Erza said, "I've heard rumor it's in a forest to the north so that's where we're going."

"Just a rumor?" Lucy asked.

"It's the best lead we have to finding the place." Erza told her.

Natsu poked Zeref, "You gonna be okay?" He didn't realized how bad he must have looked when he was sick, until he took a good look at Zeref.

Zeref assumed Natsu was teasing him again and weakly said, "I don't… need your sympathy…"

Natsu frowned and pouted, "I was just worried…" But Zeref wasn't paying attention to Natsu anymore.

.

.

.

 **Many hours later...**

"Guys we have to get off the train!" Natsu said, shaking everyone awake, "We're at the last stop!"

"Hmmm?" Lucy said, rubbing her eyes.

"Come on guys! We don't to start heading back!" Natsu said impatiently.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Gray said, annoyed.

Erza and wendy stood up and stretched and Carla yawned.

"Zeref…" Happy said groggily, "Let's go…"

Zeref just groaned. Even though he too had fallen asleep and the train was not moving, the effects of motion sickness still lingered.

Natsu sighed and bent down to pick up Zeref, "Happy can you help me?"

"But I'm so sleepy…" Happy yawned.

Natsu grimaced, but just carried Zeref outside, "Come on everyone."

Everyone slowly got off the train, it was night already, and quite nippy.

Erza looked around the station, it was dead quiet, "We should stay somewhere for the night."

"Sounds like plan." Gray said.

Lucy looked at a map on the wall in the station, "Looks like there's a town, called Dahlia, a little to the East. We could walk there, but it's so cold."

"It's not cold!" Gray said, wondering what she was talking about.

"That's because you're Gray!" Lucy exclaimed.

"We'll be fine Lucy, if we can get Zeref to wake up we'll have our heater." Erza reassured her.

A light bulb went off in Lucy's head and she said, "Natsu! Why don't you be our heater?"

"I won't be a good heater." Natsu sighed. He was still carrying Zeref and now he remembered that he could barely use any of his dragon slayer magic.

"Don't be silly!" Lucy said, happy to possibly get some warmth, "Gray can you carry Zeref?"  
"Fine." Gray said, as he took Zeref.

Natsu lit up both of hands.

"You can use fire magic?" Erza asked.

"Yeah it's Dragon slayer magic." Natsu explained.

"How can you use the magic though?" Happy asked, a little on edge.

"I know the spells." Natsu said simply.

"But where did you learn it?" Happy clarified.

"From Igneel, I think you kind of get the whole memory thing, right?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah." Happy nodded.

"That reminds me." Erza said, breaking into the conversation, "Why don't you give Zeref the scarf."

"But he's asleep!" Natsu protested.

"That's no excuse!" Erza said, "Now put it on him!"

So, Natsu, begrudgingly, put the scarf around Zeref.

Carla sighed at all the drama, "Let's just go."

As the group started heading towards the town Natsu swore that he heard the smallest crack, but quickly pushed it out of his mind.

.

.

.

The group walked into Dahlia, it was very quiet except for a few lone night owls roaming around.

"There should be an inn around here somewhere…" Erza said.

"Let's go up ahead!" Lucy suggested, "There seem to be more lights up there."

"Okay! Wendy said.

The group walked towards the lights and were lucky enough to find an inn.

.

.

.

"Boys in one room girls in the other!" Carla stated firmly.

"Whatever." Gray said, "Just give us the key the front desk lady gave us."

Lucy tossed Natsu the key, since Gray was holding Zeref, and said, "I can't believe Zeref hasn't woken up yet."

"Yeah I know." Gray agreed, "See you guys in the morning."

"Good night Gray, Natsu and Happy." Wendy said.

"Night." Lucy said as she headed towards their room at the opposite end of the hall.

"Goodnight Luce!" Called out towards her. Lucy turned and gave him a grin.

Natsu followed Gray, who was carrying Zeref, to their room.

"Open the door, will ya?" Gray said gesturing to the door.

"Yeah sure." Natsu replied. He opened the door and the trio went inside.

Gray looked around, "Only two beds, huh?"

"I'm not going to sleep so you guys can have em'." Natsu said.

"Thanks." Happy said, crashing on one of the beds.

"Why aren't you going to sleep?" Gray asked as he set Zeref down on the bed Happy was on.

"Don't wanna." Natsu answered. Gray looked at him suspiciously.

"I just don't want to sleep! You gotta problem with that?!" Natsu asked, annoyed.

"Be quiet…" Happy whined.

Gray frowned, "Fine. Do whatever." Gray jumped into the other bed, but he didn't attempt fall asleep. He was going to make sure that Natsu wasn't up to anything.

Nothing happened for quite a while, Happy had fallen asleep and Natsu was just leaning against one of the walls but, as he was watching, Natsu seemed to flinch and then he disappeared.

"Shit!" Gray shouted, flinging himself out of bed. _Where did he go?!_

Gray sprinted down the hallway and the stairs, through the lobby, and outside.

It had started snowing, but that wasn't the reason Gray paused outside. He looked around furiously. There was a forest to the North, but just more of the town in other directions. He had a gut feeling to run towards the forest.

As Gray ran past the last few buildings he thought he heard a voice a little ways up.

"...No...no no no no…" Gray heard. He ran faster.

.

.

.

Intense anger filled Gray at the scene he came across.

There, infront of him was the dark wizard kneeling over two bodies. Gray ran over to Natsu and pulled him to his feet by his shirt.

"What did you do?!" Gray shouted.

"G-Gray!" Natsu said shakily, "H-Hurry we have to help them!"

Gray dropped Natsu and checked the pulses of the bodies… dead… they were dead.

"They're dead..." Gray said, shocked.

"N-no…" Natsu whispered in disbelief.

Gray was shaking, "Did you do this?!"

Natsu flinched.

Rage filled Gray, "SO THIS WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU DISAPPEAR?! KILL PEOPLE?!"

"No!" Natsu shouted.

"Then what's this?" Gray asked.

"I didn't want that to happen!" Natsu cried.

"So you did kill them." Gray confirmed.

"I…" Natsu slumped to the ground and admitted something he never would have if he remembered Gray, "...I'm scared."

Gray just glared at him.

"I don't want to kill anyone…" Natsu said.

"Then why'd you kill them?!" Gray demanded.

"I'm cursed." Natsu said.

"Cursed?" Gray asked.

"I send out these… waves of killer magic…" Natsu explained nervously.

"What?!" Gray exclaimed, "Does Lucy know about this?!"

Natsu nodded.

"That's why you disappear all the time?" Gray asked.

"Yeah…" Natsu said.

"It didn't work this time though, did it?" Gray asked rhetorically.

"I shouldn't be around you guys anymore…" Natsu said sadly.

"Damn right you shouldn't!" Gray agreed, "I thought you wanted to protect people, so why endanger everyone?!"

"Lucy insisted…" Natsu mumbled, knowing that it was a terrible excuse.

"So you would rather do what Lucy wants then keep her safe?!" Gray questioned angrily.

"No! We were working together to get rid of it!" Natsu said, "That's why we want to reverse the spell so bad."  
"And possibly kill her in the process." Gray said.

"N-no!" Natsu protested.

"Besides if this curse of yours is so horrible, no even if it was just a mild thing, I wouldn't let you do that to Zeref." Gray said firmly, "He's family and I won't let him go through that kind of suffering."

Natsu hadn't thought about that before, "...He would get the curse then wouldn't he…?"

"Looks like you haven't thought about that all, bet you don't even care enough for that to have ever even had a chance of crossing your mind." Gray said.

 _My little brother would have to go through THIS?!_ Natsu thought horrified, _What is wrong with me?! How didn't I ever realize that?!_

"Gray…" A voice said.

Natsu and Gray whipped towards the voice, it was Zeref.

"What are you doing?" Zeref asked.

"The dark wizard is a danger to everyone in Fairy Tail, he has some kind of killing curse on him and he's planning to switch with you to get rid of it!" Gray explained angrily, "He's already killed two people!"

Zeref took in the situation before responding. Natsu obviously looked distraught, Gray looked about ready to kill Natsu, and… there were two dead people beside Natsu…

Zeref took a deep breath, "I've… already said that I'll accept whatever my true fate is-"

"Don't be an idiot Zeref!" Gray shouted.

"But, Natsu that doesn't mean I'm okay with you endangering my friends and I doubt anyone in Fairy Tail would like to hear that you have killed people to protect their own lives." Zeref said.

"You're… right…" Natsu said, "I should… leave."

"Now hold on one second. While I fully agree with what I said, I can't act on those words." Zeref said.

"Why not?!" Gray demanded.

"Because if he leaves Lucy will follow and I'd rather be there to protect her that just leave her with Natsu." Zeref explained.

Gray frowned, but he knew that Zeref was right.

"Now come on, let's bury these people, that's the least you can do for them Natsu." Zeref said, solemnly.

"Y-Yeah…" Natsu said.

.

.

.

 **Back at the inn in the boys' room…**

Happy was still asleep, Gray had passed out on the other bed, Zeref lay awake on the bed with Happy, and Natsu was back against a wall.

"Hey Natsu…" Zeref said.

"Hmm?" Natsu asked.

"You should sleep." Zeref said.

"I… don't want to…" Natsu said.

"Why not?" Zeref asked, still looking at the ceiling.

"I don't want to lose anymore memories…" Natsu said sadly.

Zeref sat up and said, "You can't stay awake forever."

He then hopped out of bed and sat down next to Natsu.

Natsu looked a little surprised, "Why'd you…?"

"I'm going to give you the same advice you told me: Make new memories." Zeref said.

Natsu gave a slight smile, "I really should take my own advice shouldn't I? But that… that isn't the only reason…"

"Is it gaining the dark wizards memories?" Zeref asked, he wasn't going to call them his own memories.

Natsu nodded.

"Don't worry." Zeref said, "I know that you're a really good person so I won't let you endure this by yourself. You don't have to keep it bottled up."

"Thank you…" Natsu said softly.

Zeref punched Natsu in the shoulder.

"What the hell?!" Natsu asked, annoyed.

"Shhh!" Zeref said grinning, "You don't act like an older brother by the way, you know that?"

Natsu frowned, "Well you don't act like a younger one!"

"That just means I'm more mature!" Zeref said smugly.

"Hmmmm.." Natsu grumbled.

"Good night idiot." Zeref said.

"Good night." Natsu said as he closed his eyes.

* * *

 _A/N: I only have one thing to say: Enjali this was going to be way worse originally._


	21. Let Go

_A/N: I Just realized I never told you guys what I changed on chapter 15 XD OMG! I changed the two females looking for Natsu to one male. Also, sorry for not posting for so long, I got a little writer's block._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters._

 **Chapter 21**

Let go

 _Zeref punched Natsu in the shoulder._

" _What the hell?!" Natsu asked, annoyed._

" _Shhh!" Zeref said grinning, "You don't act like an older brother by the way, you know that?"_

 _Natsu frowned, "Well you don't act like a younger one!"_

" _That just means I'm more mature!" Zeref said smugly._

" _Hmmmm.." Natsu grumbled._

" _Good night idiot." Zeref said._

" _Good night." Natsu said as he closed his eyes._

.

.

.

 **(Natsu POV)**

I was sitting on the ground, hands on my head in distress.

"This world… continually... rejects me. This blasted world…" I said, crying.

I was quickly enveloped by a warm hug from the girl I loved so dearly, Mavis.

"I will not reject you. I accept you." She said, tears streaming down her face.

 _She won't… reject me?_

"I am the only one who could possibly understand how you feel." Mavis declared.

She looked me in the eye and continued, "Do not give up… We shall find a way to break this damned curse. I'm sure of it… and... we shall do it hand in hand…"

"Hand… in... hand?" I asked in disbelief .

"Yes." Mavis promised.

"Mavis…" I said crying as I hugged her tightly, "No one has ever been this kind to me…"

"No. They have, You've just forgotten." She assured.

"...and I've never loved anyone this much…" I confessed.

She looked at me, tears still in her eyes, and then closed them.

I reached down, letting my lips touch hers.

 _I love her so much…_

...but after a few seconds of bliss she fell limp… and I held her body… she was gone.

.

.

.

 **(Normal POV)**

Natsu woke up crying.

"Mavis?" He said, sad and confused.

 _I love... Mavis? and I… killed her?_ Natsu thought, trying to wrap his head around the memory.

"But I love…" Natsu trailed off.

But still, like with Zeref, emotions were being forced upon him.

"Do I have to love both of you now?" Natsu asked himself.

Zeref started to stir, startling Natsu who had forgotten that they had fallen asleep next to each other.

"Just five more minutes..." Zeref mumbled.

Natsu looked at his brother worriedly. _Am I going to kill you and Lucy next?_

"I need to talk with Mavis…" Natsu murmured. Natsu carefully stood up and left the room.

 _She could have followed us right? But I haven't sensed her yet._ Natsu thought.

Natsu left the inn. The sun had just started to rise. Natsu walked to the forest to call for Mavis, he didn't want to wake everyone up.

.

.

.

"MAVIS!" Natsu shouted, "ARE YOU THERE?! PLEASE ANSWER!"

Natsu felt a wave of death predation come over him, but continued to call after it faded.

"MAVIS PLEASE! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!" Natsu called out, desperately.

Natsu felt her presence appear behind him and he whipped around.

"M-Mavis…" Natsu said, shakily.

"Natsu, what do you need?" Mavis asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Well… I've been gaining the dark wizard's memories and I remembered something… about… about us…" Natsu said nervously.

"What, exactly, did you remember?" Mavis asked.

Natsu blushed profusely, "Well...that…that I love you… but, that I also killed you..." Natsu face dropped when he said that

Mavis gave a warm smile, "I don't blame you for that and… I loved you too…"

"Loved?" Natsu asked.

"Our love is something of the past… And besides, you love someone else, right?" Mavis asked.

Natsu turned an even brighter shade of red.

"If you truly believe that you aren't the dark wizard, then why are you letting his emotions overtake you?" Mavis asked.

"It's not my choice!" Natsu protested.

"You need to hold onto the you that you want to be." Mavis told him, "Not what your memories insist you be."

"But, I also remembered my little brother and I love him, but I didn't before I gained the memories. Does that mean I shouldn't love him anymore?" Natsu asked sadly.

"That depends..." Mavis said, "Do think you could have come to love him without those memories?"

Natsu thought back on how he treated Zeref before he had the dreams of him. He acted coldly and was angry at him for taking his place, and Natsu hated that he felt such a way.

"...I don't think so…" Natsu said, but he felt horrible saying it.

"Then maybe distance yourself from him." Mavis suggested.

"But… I…" Natsu trailed off.

"I won't tell you to stop being close with him because I don't know if I would be able to in your situation, but if you want to keep your old self that's what I would do or at least try to do." Mavis honestly said, "Start by forgetting any feelings you have for me."

"I don't know how to do that!" Natsu cried.

"Focus on the love that started before you became the dark wizard." Mavis instructed, "You don't have to forget me or your brother just don't let the dark wizards emotions overshadow your own emotions."

"I'm trying, but it's just so hard… everything's jumbled up and I… I don't really know who I am anymore..." Natsu said sadly.

"You're Natsu." Mavis told him firmly, "You always have been and always will be Natsu, no one else, even if you chose to live as the dark wizard you would still be Natsu."

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked, doubtfully.

"Of course." Mavis assured.

"Thank you…" Natsu said, comforted.

"I'm always glad to help." Mavis promised.

"I wish I could see you." Natsu said longingly.

Mavis shook her head, "It's better this way. You need to forget the love you have towards me."

Natsu smiled sadly and then said, "I'm glad I met you… and I hope I see you again… Mavis."

Natsu headed back down to the inn leaving Mavis in the forest…

Once Mavis was alone she slumped to the ground.

"Natsu… I… I lied… I'm so sorry… I still love you… I still want to be with you, but I could tell that if you heard that…" Mavis trailed off _...It would most certainly destroy you..._

.

.

.

Natsu was about to enter his room when the door slammed open. Zeref, Gray and Happy were all squeezed into the doorway and they all fell onto the floor.

Zeref looked up at the stunned Natsu and a look of relief appeared on his face.

"Where were you?" Gray demanded.

"I had to talk with Mavis…" Natsu answered shyly.

"She's here?" Zeref asked in confusion.

"I… I don't think we'll be seeing her for a while…" Natsu said sadly.

"Everything okay?" Zeref questioned worriedly.

Natsu nodded, "Yeah."

"We were just about to go look for you." Happy informed Natsu.

"Oh." Natsu said, not really surprised. Moving on from that Natsu asked, "Want to go wake up the girls?"

"Sure." Zeref said, "Oh, by the way I made Gray promise not to say anything about earlier and I talked to him about his… attitude problems."

"I don't have an attitude!" Gray exclaimed

"Thanks Zeref and uh... You too Gray." Natsu said awkwardly.

"I don't think it's wrong to be mad at a killer." Gray said defiantly.

"I thought we talked about this!" Zeref said, fed up, "He didn't want to do that so don't go attacking him over it you stupid stripper!"

"Don't call me a stupid stripper, Egghead! Unlike you and your logic I'm going with my gut feeling here." Gray said, ticked off.

"I don't think that really helped your case Gray…" Happy said, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's fine don't worry about me Zeref, I can deal with the popsicle." Natsu said confidently.

"I don't know what worries me more, the curse or the fact the one who's cursed is an idiot." Gray sighed.

"You wanna fight?" Natsu said angrily.

"I've been waiting for that." Gray said in anticipation.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" Someone shouted, ironically.

"Whoops…" Natsu said quietly.

"Let's just go." Zeref said, hurrying the group over to the girl's room.

The boy's headed over to the girl's' room and knocked on the door.

"Coming…" A voice yawned.

An exhausted Lucy opened the door.

Yawning she said, "What are you guys doing up so early? The sun just came up…everyone else is asleep..."

"This one disappeared on us, again." Gray said, gesturing to Natsu.

"Would you rather I let the curse go off in the room?! Would you?!" Natsu asked, exasperated.

"No." Gray said, "Just let us know."

"AUGH!" Natsu screamed in frustration.

"SHUT UP!" Someone yelled.

Lucy ushered them all inside and while doing that she asked, "You told them?"

"Yeah." Natsu said.

"Aww did you guys bond?" Lucy teased.

"Bond with the popsicle? No way! He's so crabby." Natsu said annoyed.

"Don't be that way, you've best friends with him for so long." Lucy said sweetly.

 _I was best friends with Gray?!_ Natsu thought in disbelief.

"I don't think I could be friends with him." Gray scoffed.

"You totally could Gray." Zeref said.

Natsu frowned still in disbelief.

"Anyway, I'll go get the others up." Lucy said, leaving the boys in the hallway.

"We're heading back to that forest from earlier after this, right?" Zeref asked.

"Yeah." Gray answered.

.

.

.

The girls came out of their room.

"Alright let's go!" Lucy said enthusiastically.

"You took forever!" Natsu complained.

"It was only ten minutes!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It didn't feel that way." Natsu said.

Carla squeezed past the two, "Don't block the doorway!" She demanded.

"Oh sorry!" Lucy apologized as she scurried out of the way.

Erza and Wendy then exited the room.

"People are still sleeping so why don't we go outside and then figure out what our next move will be?" Erza suggested.

"Works for me." Natsu said, hands behind his head.

.

.

.

Once they were outside…

"Which way is the Succubus Eye guild again?" Happy asked.

"That forest toward the North." Gray replied.

"Guys." Wendy started, "Even if the guild is up there how are we going to get them to tell us what we need to know?"

"I'm wondering about that as well." Erza stated.

"Isn't obvious guys?" Zeref asked in disbelief.

"No…?" Lucy said, confused.

Zeref put his hands on Natsu's shoulders then spoke, "They worship Natsu right? So he can just waltz in there and be all like, 'I am the dark wizard! Fear me!'" Zeref finished in menacing voice.

Happy giggled.

"That sounds great!" Natsu said while laughing hysterically.

"How would you prove it?!" Carla demanded.

"Huh?" Gray said.

"It's not like they're going to just take his word for it!" Carla explained.

"Then he can use some kind of dark wizard spell or something!" Zeref said.

"I guess I could use that black orb spell from before." Natsu said, mostly to himself. _Though I don't really like using that magic._ Natsu added silently.

"So we're gonna wait outside while Natsu goes inside and uses his _wits_ to trick the dark guild?" Lucy asked in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Zeref said enthusiastically.

"Hate to break it to you, but Natsu isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed." Lucy sighed.

"Hey!" Natsu shouted, pouting.

Gray snickered.

"It'll be a piece of cake just you watch!" Natsu exclaimed, fired up.

Erza looked at the group in amusement then said, "Let's go."

"Yeah." Gray agreed.

"I'm gonna prove you wrong Luce!" Natsu declared.

"Hope you do." Lucy giggled.

.

.

.

Meanwhile…

"I heard the Fairy Tail guild is harbouring Natsu!" Someone said.

"No way! Natsu has to be dead!" Another disagreed.

"I swear it! I'm pretty sure I even saw him myself! There was guy with spiky pink hair getting on a North bound train with some of their members!" The first insisted.

"The dark wizard has pink hair?" The other snickered.

A passing man, with white hair overheard this. He walked over to the two men.

"Which train is this that you're talking about?" The man white hair asked.

"None of your business!" One of men said rudely.

The white haired man grabbed him by the shirt and sternly said, "You will tell me."

The other man yelped.

"At- At the train station there is a n-northbound train." The first man stuttered.

The white haired man let go of the other man, and he hurried off.

 _I'll find you soon, your majesty._ The white haired man thought surely.

* * *

 _A/N: We'll get into some action next chapter! :D_


	22. Succubus Eye

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 **Chapter 22**

Succubus Eye

" _So we're gonna wait outside while Natsu goes inside and uses his wits to trick the dark guild?" Lucy asked in disbelief._

" _Yeah!" Zeref said enthusiastically._

" _Hate to break it to you, but Natsu isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed." Lucy sighed._

" _Hey!" Natsu shouted, pouting._

 _Gray snickered._

" _It'll be a piece of cake just you watch!" Natsu exclaimed, fired up._

 _Erza looked at the group in amusement then said, "Let's go."_

" _Yeah." Gray agreed._

" _I'm gonna prove you wrong Luce!" Natsu declared._

" _Hope you do." Lucy giggled._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Natsu and the rest had been walking in the forest for nearly two hours.

"How much longer do you think this gonna take?" Natsu whined.

"I think we all want to know the answer to that." Lucy sighed.

"Happy, Carla why don't you do go fly around and see what you can find. We should be getting close." Gray said.

"Okay!" Happy said.

"Very well." Carla agreed, "Just stay put or we'll lose track of you."

"Right." Zeref said.

The two exceeds flew into the air, ready to scout out the land.

.

.

.

 **Thirty minutes later…**

"Hey guys we're back!" Happy called out with Carla trailing behind him.

Natsu and Zeref looked up enthusiastically.

"I hope they found the guild!" Wendy said, voicing everyone's thoughts.

Happy and Carla flew down into the group.

"So what did you guys find?" Erza asked.

"We found the guild hall!" Happy announced excitedly.

"Alright!" Gray said.

"It's about 10 miles to the North, that's why we took so long." Carla explained.

"Then let's head over there!" Lucy said.

Natsu grinned, "Yeah!"

.

.

.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Lady Kyouka there's been a group of mages spotted in the area, I know that you're just here on routine inspection, but I thought it prevalent that you know." A member of Succubus Eye said.

"You mean to tell me that you cannot dispatch a group of lowly wizards?" Kyouka asked in disgust.

"N-no of course we can, I just thou-" The man was cut off as he had just been beheaded.

"Weaklings should not even be associated with Tartaros." Kyouka said to the corpse.

.

.

.

 **Back with Natsu and the others…**

"Are we almost there yet?" Natsu asked.

"We just told you like five minutes ago, that we're about ten miles away!" Carla said exasperated.

"Happy why don't you fly me over to the guild right now so I can finish everything." Natsu said cockily.

"No way, I'm waiting for everyone else." Happy said as he flew next to Zeref.

Natsu grumbled, "Fine."

"Don't be impatient Natsu." Lucy scolded, "You have to prepare yourself."

"Why?" Natsu asked, confused.

"Because," Zeref answered, "You act nothing like people would assume the dark wizard would."

"Huh?" Natsu said, still not understanding.

Zeref elaborated, "Since you don't have, what we would assume to be, your memories what would you have guessed the dark wizard to be like before you 'became' him?"

Natsu thought about this outloud, "Umm… evil?"

Zeref, and everyone else, sighed, "Yeah there's that, but like personality and trait wise."

"For example," Gray chimed in, "Really smart and cruel."

"Strong too." Wendy added.

"Yes." Erza agreed, "Someone I would most likely not be able to beat."

"He would most certainly have many magic abilities as well." Carla said, giving her input.

"So… I have to act evil, super strong, and really smart." Natsu confirmed.

"Though he'll probably have trouble on the smarts part." Happy whispered to Zeref, who had to hold back his laughter.

Natsu heard Happy's comment though and shouted, "Hey! I'm plenty smart!"

"I guess you can be sometimes." Lucy half defended.

"Thanks- Hey! Are you saying I'm stupid most of the time?!" Natsu demanded.

"No!" Lucy said frantically, "You're Just only smart when you're fighting!"

Natsu grumbled, but he didn't want to argue with Lucy so he dropped it.

As they were walking Erza asked, "Can you show us what you're planning to do inside Natsu?"

A malicious grin spread across Natsu's face and he put his right hand on his chest, saying, "How dare you try and command me? Do you know who I am?"

Natsu turned to face Lucy and leaned in real close, making her squeal.

"...I am the dark wizard Natsu."

Natsu backed up and grinned smugly, knowing he had done a good job.

"Well I guess he's good at acting." Zeref said, shrugging his shoulders.

Lucy nodded, his performance reminded her of his act back in Edolas.

"Stop right there!" Someone shouted.

Everyone turned and spotted a group of three men, with what appeared to be magic spears, in front of them.

"What are you people doing in our territory? Get lost!" One of the men shouted.

"Your territory?" Erza asked.

"Yes this is the territory of Succubus Eye, a dark guild, our guild." The leading man said proudly.

Zeref pushed Natsu forward from behind and whispered, "Do your thing!"

Natsu stumbled, then proceeded to glare at Zeref, who grinned sheepishly.

Natsu turned around, attempting to compose himself and then commanded, "Step back servants!" _I can say whatever I want!_ Natsu thought mischievously.

Everyone scurried back, trying to sell Natsu's act. Natsu turned to face the dark guild wizards, who were a bit perplexed.

"How dare you try to threaten me and my slaves?" Natsu demanded.

"Don't act all high and mighty with me!" One of the men said, ticked off.

"If I were you I'd show a little more respect for the one you worship so dearly." Natsu said menacingly.

"Like we would worship an arrogant idiot like you." Another man scoffed.

"So Natsu is an arrogant idiot?" Natsu said, real anger filling his voice.

"You're saying that you're Lord Natsu? Please." One of the men said with laughter in his voice.

 _What do we do?_ Lucy thought frantically, _He has to prove it somehow! Maybe he's going to use one of the dark spells that he knows?_

A grin broke out on Natsu's face and he confidently walked up to the man closest to him, the one he decided was most likely to be the leader.

"What are you-" The leader was cut off.

Natsu grabbed the spear and shoved into his stomach. _Dammit! That hurts WAY more than I thought it would!_ Natsu thought, but kept the grin on his face.

Lucy and the others gasped, "Natsu!"

Natsu moved his hand behind himself to show he was fine.

"Natsu has a spear going through him." Wendy whimpered.

Although Gray, Zeref, Happy and Lucy knew about Natsu's curse only Lucy new about his immortality. Natsu ripped the spear out of his abdomen and threw it aside, causing the men to yelp. The wound Natsu had quickly vanished and the men stared in fear and awe. Everyone, besides Lucy, stared in amazement as well.

"Now." Natsu said, "Are you ready to show me respect?"

The leader quickly knelt down on one knee; the other two quickly following suit.

"I am the four hundred year old immortal you so stupidly disrespected, but I can make use of you so I'll let you live." Natsu said condescendingly.

"T-Thank you for your mercy Lord Natsu." The leader said hastily.

"Take my slaves and I to your guild, there is a book I am trying to find." Natsu commanded.

"Right away lord Natsu." The three said.

"Now lead me." Natsu commanded.

The three men stood quickly and Natsu waved on the rest of the group. Lucy and the other's ran up to Natsu.

"Hey Lucy why didn't you tell us he was immortal?" Gray demanded quietly.

"It's really easy to forget, sorry!" Lucy whispered back.

"Shut up slaves." Natsu said, mischievously deciding to abuse his power.

Lucy, Gray and Zeref grimaced, but the rest kept their cool.

.

.

.

The grouped walked for what seemed like forever. Natsu didn't think he had ever been more bored in his life. Talking to his "slaves" like friends would probably be suspicious and the members of succubus guild just walked in total silence. However, he managed to keep at least a semi-straight face while walking.

Eventually the leader wearily spoke up, "L-lord Natsu sir…"

Natsu perked up, "Yes?"

"Well we haven't exactly gotten to tell the guild that you, Lord, were the one leading a group of wizards towards our guild…" The leader continued, "May we please let them

know?"

"Very well." Natsu said.

"Thank you lord." The leader said.

They continued to walk as the leader took out a communication lacrima and said, "Hello?"

A voice on the other side of the lacrima spoke up, "Yes, what is it Cecil?"

"We told you earlier of the group of mages had been sighted nearby, correct?" The leader, now known as Cecil, asked.

"Yes." The voice replied, "Lady Kyouka was very displeased that she was bothered with such information."

"My apologies." Cecil said, "However, it turns out the one leading the mages is in fact… is in fact…"

"Spit it out Cecil!" The voice commanded, annoyed.

"The leader is Lord Natsu!" Cecil fiished hurriedly.

"...What?" The voice asked in disbelief.

"Lord Natsu is trying to find a certain book and requests our help." Cecil explained.

Do you have proof he isn't tricking you?" The voice asked.

A look of horror washed over Cecil's face and he turned to apologize to Natsu, but was relieved to see Natsu did not look bothered in the slightest by the conversation.

Nervously, Cecil turned back to the crystal and said, "He used one of our magic spears to stab himself but… but there was no wound left afterwards."

"There's no way..." The voice said.

"I think Lady Kyouka would be v-very pleased with this information." Cecil stuttered.

"Most certainly. I'll get someone to let her know right away." The voice said.

"O-okay." Cecil stuttered and then put the lacrima away.

"Are we going to be there soon?" Natsu asked impatiently.

"Y-yes Lord Natsu." One of the other men said, "Probably only around five more minutes."

"Good." Natsu stated.

.

.

.

 **Elsewhere…**

A white-haired man stepped off of a train into Dahlia. He walked around the town asking people if they had seen a man with pink hair around town; it took a while, but finally someone had an answer for him.

"I had work pretty early this morning and when I was heading for it I saw a group of people heading towards the northern woods. If I recall correctly one of them did have pink hair."

"Your information is much appreciated." The white-haired man said.

"No problem." The guy said.

The white-haired man headed off towards the forest while deep in thought.

 _Why was his majesty with a group of people? Where those the Fairy Tail members supposedly harboring him? No matter, I'll find out soon enough._

.

.

.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Lady Kyouka!" A member of Succubus Eye called out.

"What? I was just about to leave." Kyôka scowled.

"It's Lord Natsu! He's heading for our guild this very moment!" The member announced.

Kyouka froze. _Lord Natsu is coming here?_ She thought in disbelief.

"Contact Tartaros and tell them what you have told me! I must go confirm this with my own eyes." Kyouka said as she hurried towards the exit.

.

.

.

 **Back with Natsu and the others…**

They had just arrived at the entrance to Succubus Eye…

"W-we're here." Cecil said.

"That's obvious." Natsu said.

"Sorry Lord Natsu." Cecil apologized hastily.

Natsu waved his hands in dismissal. Cecil was about to lead Natsu inside when the front doors to the guild slammed open. Natsu and the rest jumped at the sudden slam of the door, but were even more confused when they saw who had opened it.

"L-lady Kyouka!" Cecil said in shock.

Kyouka's eyes landed on Natsu and she immediately knew that it was him, so, quickly, she knelt down on one knee.

"Lord Natsu." Kyouka said respectfully, "We have finally found you."

Kyouka had always felt a deeply rooted instinct to find Natsu, but even though she had now found him she did not feel satisfied. Was there something else she was meant to do?

Natsu stood frozen for quite a while before Zeref said, "L-lord Natsu?"

That snapped Natsu back into reality and he said, "I-I am trying to find a very important spell book and I am here to request help."

"Yes of course Lord Natsu." Kyouka responded, "Would you mind giving us a description?"

Natsu answered, "It's an old leather-bound spellbook that is half finished. It was quite big and was not signed by the author."

"I will try my best to find this book for you Lord Natsu." Kyouka said.

"Very well." Natsu said, "Lead me and my slaves inside." Natsu gestured to his friends.

"Of course." Kyouka answered.

Natsu and his friends walked toward Kyouka, but as he did the feeling of desire Kyouka had grew stronger and stronger, until her body practically moved on it's own. She had realized her true purpose. Natsu had no time to react before she grabbed him by the neck.

"What are you doing?!" Cecil asked in shock.

Zeref and the others jumped into help, trying to get her hand off of Natsu's neck. Natsu struggled furiously, he was instinctively panicking. He tried to teleport away, but Kyouka just moved with him.

Kyôka laughed at this, "Lord Natsu why are you struggling so much? Didn't you create me for this very reason?"

 _Create her? what does she mean?_ Natsu thought.

Kyouka squeezed tighter, ready to snap his neck.

"Stop it!" Lucy begged. She quickly pulled out Loki's and shouted, "Open gate of lion, Leo!"

Leo appeared and quickly charged Kyouka only to be swatted away.

"Damn! Why did that hurt so bad?!" Loke said angrily.

"I enhanced your pain, and not just for you." Kyouka said sadistically.

"I've enhanced your power now go!" Wendy commanded.

"Fire dragon's roar!" Zeref shouted, knowing Natsu would not be hurt by fire, but maybe Kyouka would.

However, once the fire dissipated, however, Kyouka stood unharmed, still holding Natsu.

"Do you really think that you can beat me?! An etherious?!" Kyouka laughed.

Natsu perked up. He recognized the word, but he had no idea what it meant. While everyone else was still fighting, Lucy ran up and grabbed Kyouka's arm. Kyouka chuckled, preparing to swat her away. As fast as he could Natsu materialized one of the black balls of magic he had used before and slammed it into Kyouka's arm. He was surprised he had not thought of that before. Kyouka screamed in pain, because Natsu had just severed her arm. Natsu quickly teleported away and he released a massive wave of his killing magic. Although panting from the pain and exhaustion, Natsu wasted no time teleporting back.

"We have to run!" Natsu shouted.

Without replying, the group started running back the way they had come. Kyouka stood unmoving, she knew she needed help from the other etherious, from their master…


	23. The White-Haired Man

**A/N: Hey everyone! I've decided to write you all the longest chapter yet! Thanks for all support you've been giving! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own fairy tail or its characters.**

 **Chapter 23**

The white-Haired Man

 _As fast as he could Natsu materialized one of the black balls of magic he had used before and slammed it into Kyouka's arm. He was surprised he had not thought of that before._ _Kyouka screamed in pain, because Natsu had just severed her arm._ _Natsu quickly teleported away and he released a massive wave of his killing magic. Although panting from the pain and exhaustion, Natsu wasted no time teleporting back._

 _"We have to run!" Natsu shouted._

 _Without replying, the group started running back the way they had come._ _Kyouka stood unmoving, she knew she needed help from the other etherious, from their master…_

* * *

The group kept running until almost everyone needed to stop and pass out…

"How…are we…still…not there?" Natsu asked in between breaths.

Erza, who was the least exhausted of the group, said, "It was only around sixteen miles to get there, but it's taking so long to get back… We may have gotten turned around somehow…"

"That's great…at least they don't seem…to be following us." Zeref said tiredly.

"I don't think they are." Erza stated.

Natsu sat down and said, "What was that all about anyway…?"

"I thought you might know." Zeref said.

"Why would I know?!" Natsu exclaimed. Zeref shrugged.

"I don't think that this is a safe place to rest…" Erza said worriedly.

"We don't really have any other choice." Zeref said, "Everyone's out cold except us three and I'm pretty sure Natsu and I are on the brink of collapsing."

Natsu flopped down in agreement.

Zeref shot Natsu a look, "I know you're tired, but do you really wanna go to sleep?"

"I can't avoid it forever..." Natsu sighed.

Erza looked at the two, but decided it wasn't her business and they would tell her if it was necessary. She then said, "I'll stand guard."

"M'kay…" Natsu said as he drifted off.

.

.

.

 **(Natsu POV)**

I looked at my brother's body fondly and I spoke softly to him, "It was you that I created as my final work… no… created is such an ugly word. You were once human… you had a body..."

I walked over and leaned against the egg that encased him.

"… Yes… I made sure to keep you safe over all these years…"

I almost feel like laughing… I never imagined things would turn out this way…

"... I achieved both at once… the resurrection of my little brother and my ultimate etherious creation, E.N.D., because... that is what I hope you will be for me... The End of Natsu Dragneel…"

I watched as my little brother's eyes flickered open.

Are you awake now? I smiled.

"Zeref…My name is Natsu Dragneel and I am your older brother…"

.

.

.

 **(Normal POV)**

Natsu woke up with a start, only an hour later, and standing over him was a white-haired man; Erza had, unfortunately, fallen asleep, because she had been more tired than she thought, and so his approach was not noticed. Natsu didn't even have time to think about what the latest addition to his memories entailed before the white-haired man spoke, "You look confused your majesty. Let me help you to your feet."

"Uh… okay…" Natsu replied warily, "But what's your name?"

The white-haired man's eyes widened, but he did not question Natsu, "It is Invel your majesty, Invel Yura."

Invel helped Natsu up and then asked, "If I may ask, your majesty, why are you traveling with a band of wizards?"

"They're my friends." Natsu replied simply, "I don't have a reason not to travel with them."

Invel looked surprised by this and asked, "What about your curse, your majesty?"

"How do you know about that?!" Natsu demanded.

"Your majesty, you told me." Ivel explained, hiding any confusion.

"No I didn't. I've never seen you before." Natsu said, crossing his arms, "Also why do you keep calling me 'your majesty'? It's annoying."

"Would you prefer Emperor?" Invel asked apologetically.

"No, call me Natsu." Natsu insisted.

"...Very well… Natsu." Invel said hesitantly, "How is it that you know nothing about me?"

"I've never met you, duh." Natsu said, annoyed.

"My apologies… Natsu... but you are acting in a way that would suggest you have some form of memory loss, would my assumptions be correct?" Invel asked cautiously.

Not only that, but there is a stark contrast with how his personality is now and how it used to be… Invel added to himself.

"That's my business." Natsu said.

"What's going on…?" Happy said while waking up.

"Some guy is asking me a bunch of questions." Natsu explained.

"What?!" Happy exclaimed.

T _his is not what I expected…_ Invel thought.

"Natsu I would like to implore you to come back to Alvarez with me." Invel asked.

"Alvarez?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu you shouldn't be talking to some random guy!" Happy said.

"What are you guys doing?" Lucy asked sleepily, but as she opened her eyes she saw a man she didn't know and quickly demanded, "Who are you?!"

Invel ignored her because he didn't deem her important.

"As I was saying Natsu you should come back to Alvarez, your empire." Invel stated.

"My empire?!" Natsu exclaimed.

I shall have to cater to his majesty's memory loss… Invel concluded.

"Yes, you have been ruling over it for quite some time under the name of Spriggan." Invel explained.

"Don't ignore me!" Lucy's angry shout also ended up waking up the rest of the group.

 _This is rather annoying…_ Invel thought.

"My name is Invel Yura and I have come to take Natsu back with me to Alvarez." Invel explained begrudgingly, so that they would not continue to question him.

"Well... what if he doesn't want to go?" Zeref asked groggily.

Invel took notice of Zeref, recognizing him from Natsu's locket, and said, "Then I could not do anything. I can only advise my emperor."

"Wait what?!" Zeref asked in shock, "Natsu's an emperor?!"

Invel nodded in confirmation.

"There's no way that idiot could be an emperor." Gray scoffed.

Invel shot him a glare and said, "You should show Natsu more respect."

"Maybe you can bow down to him, but I sure as hell can't." Gray stated.

"Bet I could make you!" Natsu challenged.

Gray butted heads with Natsu, "Bring it on Pinky!"

Invel was greatly surprised by this interaction; he never imagined he was going to see Natsu act in such a way. However, that was not the only reason he was surprised...

 _I had assumed I was only unaffected by his majesty's curse because, his majesty, obviously, does not care for my life as a person, but as a tool. However, he seems to care for them, so his curse should be active..._

When Invel was much younger he had once seen Natsu's touch kill an animal. When he inquired Natsu about it he had told him that he had had a moment of weakness and didn't ignore the value of life. However Invel had not seen that happen since…

 _...Mayhaps his majesty's curse is not at it's strongest…_

"Natsu how much do you value life? If I may ask." Invel inquired.

Natsu turned his head to answer "How much do I-" But he was cut off as Gray punched him in the face.

"Shouldn't turn your back on me, Idiot." Gray said triumphantly as he took off his clothes.

"I'm going to beat your face in, you stripper!" Natsu shouted, fuming.

Invel sighed and while Natsu and Gray continued to brawl, Zeref walked up to Invel, because he was actually curious about the Alvarez Empire.

 _Ah, it's his majesty's younger brother…_ Invel thought.

"Invel?" Zeref asked, "I'm curious about the Alvarez Empire. Could you tell me about it?"

"I suppose I can." Invel replied, "What do you want to know?"

"As much as you're willing to tell me?" Zeref asked hopefully.

Invel sighed, "As long as you explain some of it to Natsu." Although he was still completely loyal to Natsu, he wasn't sure how much of his new personality he could take.

"I can do that!" Zeref assured.

"Very well, the Alvarez Empire is a country in the western continent, Alakitasia…" Invel started.

Everyone besides Natsu and Gray decided to listen in as well.

Invel continued, proudly at this point, "It is very powerful country made from 730 mage guilds that Natsu subjugated."

"Wow!" Wendy said in surprise, "Natsu really did that?"

Invel ignored Wendy's comment and asked Zeref, "Am I correct in assuming there is something wrong with Natsu's memory?"

"Yeah." Zeref confirmed, "As far as I'm concerned, he has my memories."

"Was it some sort of spell that caused it?" Invel asked.

"Right again." Zeref said, "We're actually looking for the spell book so that we can reverse it."

I may be able to use this as a way to get his majesty to come back to the empire… Invel thought.

"If Natsu comes back to Alvarez…" Invel said, "He could send out many of his soldiers to hunt down this spell book."

"Really?!" Zeref said, "That's awesome!"

"It would surely shorten our hunt for the book." Erza agreed.

"Also it will be really hard if… what did that lady call herself? ... Oh right! An etherious! Yeah it'll really be hard if she comes after us!" Lucy said.

Displeasure flashed in Invel's eyes, "Demons are after the lot of you?" Invel only responded as he recognized Lucy's words as important.

Gray and Natsu had both stopped in their tracks at these last few sentences.

"Demons?" Natsu asked warily.

"I'm referring to the demons of the books of Natsu, your books." Invel clarified.

"Deliora…" Gray muttered.

Natsu glanced at Zeref and thought, _I remember now that Zeref is an etherious, but according to Invel, that means he's… a demon?_

Natsu could barely keep a straight face and Invel had seen the glance Natsu threw at Zeref.

 _If I'm correct, his majesty knows something. I will have to talk privately with him later._ Invel decided.

"Natsu the demons from your book have an innate instinct to kill you." Invel explained, "Because you have had a run in with one of them they will most likely come back for you quite soon. The safest thing to do would be to come with me to Alvarez. There are many powerful wizards there."

"Also," Zeref piped in, "He told us that you could send out many people to look for the spell book."

"Then… I guess we have nothing to lose by going." Natsu decided.

"It will be at least a twelve day trip to get to the capital." Invel said, "So it's best we leave now."

"Alright! Now we're one step closer to getting your life back Natsu!" Lucy said cheerily.

"Mm." Natsu said in acknowledgement, but he was starting to focus more on the memories he had just gained.

 _Did I really want to die so bad that I brought back my little brother by turning him into a demon meant to kill me?_ Natsu asked himself. _I don't believe it!_

.

.

.

The rest of the day consisted of traveling to the ship Invel had come to Ishgar on. It was a good sized ship too; it had a large cabin area and was supposedly fast. However, Zeref was horrified that he would be on a ship for twelve days and tried to escape, but Erza wouldn't let him. Wendy also reminded him that she could help with the Troia spell. Once everyone had settled down, and the ship had set its course, everyone decided to go to sleep after that hectic day. However, Invel asked Natsu to go outside and talk with him...

.

.

.

"Natsu, you may not remember, however I have been around you enough to know the minute signals you give. If I may ask for the truth, did you actually already know about the etherious you created?" Invel asked.

"I know a little bit." Natsu confided.

"Then, you have not lost all of your memory?" Invel asked.

Natsu shrugged his shoulders, "I guess you could say that."

"Am I permitted to ask what you do know?" Invel inquired.

Natsu nodded and then answered, "I know that my brother, Zeref, is the most powerful etherious I have ever made… also, that he is called E.N.D. and is meant to kill me…"

"If I may state my opinion, why do you not just kill him before he has a chance to kill you?" Invel suggested.

Natsu looked horrified and exclaimed, "No! I couldn't do that to my brother when I've already made him a demon!"

Natsu's head began to pound and he clutched it. Invel didn't know what to do and Natsu ended up teleporting to land and back, but he was severely exhausted from the long distance when he got back.

"I guess you do value life… but not enough for your touch to kill…" Invel commented. He then looked at the de-energized Natsu and said, "Would you like to go to bed?"

"No… I want to talk more…" Natsu sighed.

"Very well." Invel agreed.

"Why would you suggest that I kill Zeref?" Natsu asked seriously.

"Because Natsu, his life is not as valuable to me as it appears it is to you. Your life is more important." Invel explained.

"Yeah well…" Natsu muttered, "...Apparently not, considering I created demons that I hoped would kill me…"

"So you do not feel that way now?" Invel inquired.

"No, but I can see how I got to that point." Natsu sighed. _Or at least how Zeref got to that point._ Natsu added to himself.

"I see." Invel said.

"Invel?" Natsu asked, "May I ask how much I have previously told you?"

"You do not need to ask for permission." Invel said.

"Alright… so?" Natsu asked.

"Ah right." Invel said, "You had told me about your brother, the etherious, the 400 year plan, Fairy Heart, and much about yourself and your curse. I hope that was not too brief."

Natsu shook his head and asked, "No, but what's Hairy Heart and the 400 year plan?"

"Fairy Heart is, as you told me, what you could call a weapon that the Fairy Tail guild possess. Literally, it is their first master, Mavis's, body-" Invel was cut off.

"What?!" Natsu shouted, "Mavis's body?!"

"That is correct, but, if I am permitted to ask, why is that so surprising?"

"It's just… h-how is Mavis's body a... weapon?" Natsu asked shakily.

"This is because her body is a source of infinite Magic Power that was caused by a number of things, including the magic from Ankhseram's curse." Invel explained.

 _Mavis had the curse too?!_ Natsu thought in surprise. _I guess that makes sense, from what I remember._

"It could end up being a vital asset for your empire if we obtain it." Invel suggested.

"I'm not using Mavis's body like that!" Natsu growled.

Invel blinked in surprise and then said, "It was only a suggestion."

"Fine." Natsu said, "Then… can you tell me what the 400 year plan was?"

"I'll explain it simply." Invel said, "You told me that you had met a dragon and a celestial wizard. The three of you decided that you would use a gate, called Eclipse, to send five dragon slayers to the future, with their dragons inside of them, all to defeat Acnologia."

"That's crazy!" Natsu interjected, "Did it work?!"

"Actually the 400 year plan is still happening to this day." Invel continued.

"Who were the five dragon slayers?!" Natsu asked expectantly.

 _His majesty can't even guess that much?_ Invel thought, frowning.

"They're names are Wendy, Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, and your little brother, Zeref." Invel stated.

Natsu's jaw hung open and his mind was racing. _Does that mean before I was from 400 years in the past?! What about the other dragon slayers he mentioned? Those Sting and Rogue guys, I wonder what they're like!_

Then, Natsu realized something and he said, "Wait… y-you said the dragons… were, I mean are, inside of them?"

"Yes." Invel confirmed.

"Then Igneel… he's- he's been inside me the whole time?" Natsu asked quietly.

 _This must be the effect of having his brother's memories…_ Invel thought.

"No, he's inside your brother, remember that. Same for the other dragon slayers." Invel clarified.

Natsu began to cry, albeit quietly. Although Invel did his best not to show it, this greatly flustered him.

"Your-" Invel cut himself off, "Natsu, what's wrong?"

"It's just that I spent so much time looking for him… and then it turns out that he was inside me the whole time… I mean what's with that?!" Natsu said, getting a little angry.

"Y-you told me before that the dragons only went to the future and sealed themselves inside the dragon slayers because the more ethernano in this era could heal their souls, that… that were damaged by Acnologia." Invel explained, annoyed at his stuttering.

After a moment of silence Natsu spoke again, "...I'm just glad to know for sure that he didn't abandon me…"

"Natsu…" Invel started, "You need to remember that those are not your memories. Do not treat them as such."

Natsu's anger spiked and he shouted, "They are my memories! They're one of the only things about me right now that prove that I haven't always been the dark wizard!"  
Invel was quite surprised by the sudden outburst.

 _This may end up being much harder to deal with than I had assumed…_ Invel thought.

"Screw this." Natsu said, wiping any tears away from his eyes, "I'm going to sleep."

"My apologies." Invel said as Natsu stomped off.

Natsu walked quieter once he had gotten inside the cabin, but he was still mad. He went to the room Invel had shown him earlier.

 _'This room is for the emperor only!'_ Natsu recalled. _So annoying!_

Natsu opened the door to his room, but the bed wasn't empty; Zeref was sitting on the edge.

"What are you doing in here?" Natsu asked with a sigh.

"Am I really a demon?" Zeref asked, hurt in his voice.

Natsu froze. _Was he listening?!_ He knew full well how good of senses dragon slayers had.

"Answer me Natsu!" Zeref's demand almost sounded like begging.

"...Yes," Natsu whispered, "h-how much did you hear?"

"All of it." Zeref answered, quietly. Even though he had heard their conversation, Natsu telling him that he was, in fact, a demon was still shocking.

"I'm really sorry…" Natsu said shakily, "I didn't know you were awake…"

"Don't get me wrong some of that conversation was great news… like the fact that, I guess, Igneel is inside me…" Zeref said, while gently putting his hand on his chest, "But, otherwise… I think I could have lived my life without knowing that..."

"I'm sorry, it's just... I had a dream when we fell asleep yesterday. That's when I learned about it, that you're an etherious, I didn't know what that was until Invel told me." Natsu said.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Zeref asked, sadness lingering in his voice.

"I don't think I could have…" Natsu admitted, "But, you know... it doesn't matter to me that you're a demon… you're still the same person. If you were a demon this whole time it's not like you're suddenly gonna change… and I think the others would feel the same way too..."

Zeref hopped off the bed and said, "Well I'm not going to kill you."

"What?" Natsu asked, confused.

"Invel said the etherious have a desire to kill you, but I don't have that and I'm not going to kill you." Zeref clarified.

"I- I don't really want to die right now anyway." Natsu said, slightly confused.

"Also, in the morning I'm going to tell Wendy about the 400 year plan, she deserves to know where her dragon is…" Zeref added.

"Right…" Natsu said quietly.

Zeref walked out of the room confidently, but he was still completely overwhelmed by the situation.

 _I don't… I'm not… No… I am… I really am a demon…_ Zeref thought sadly.

He chuckled quietly and whispered, "Everything really has gone topsy turvy since I met you Natsu…"

Zeref looked up and down the hall stood Invel, who slowly walked towards him.

"What do you want?" Zeref asked, glaring.

"...If you ever try to get in his majesty's way it will mean the death sentence." Invel threatened calmly.

Zeref scowled, "Like you could kill me… I'm a demon. OOooh scary, right?"

Invel was thrown off guard by Zeref's response and he stayed silent.

"Ha…" Zeref muttered, "I'm going to bed…"

Invel watched Zeref as he walked towards the room where Gray and Happy also slept.

 _Even though it seems like he isn't planning on doing anything I shall still have to keep an eye on him._ Invel decided.

.

.

.

Natsu lay awake in bed, although he was extremely tired he did not want to go to sleep.

 _I'll probably gain another memory once I pass out…and who knows how many things about my actual life I've forgotten… Not anyone that I'm traveling with besides Gray, but… I guess it's only a matter of time…_

Natsu sighed and rolled over.

.

.

.

 **(Natsu POV)**

I ushered my little brother forward, "Come on Zeref we're almost there."

Zeref pouted, "I don't wanna go!"

"But don't you want to see Gajeel, Wendy, and the others?" I asked, amused.

"No." Zeref grumbled, "They're really loud."

I smiled. _He's the opposite of me when I was little…_

"Anna will be there," I said, trying to persuade him, "And so is Igneel, remember? They'll probably teach you all sorts of cool stuff."

Zeref crossed his arms and begrudgingly said, "Fine."

I ruffled Zeref's hair and he blushed.

"Come on, let's go." I said.

 _I'm really going to miss him, but this is necessary._

Time seemed to fly as I walked with Zeref for the last time…

"Ah Natsu, Zeref!" Anna greeted us cheerily.

"Hello Anna." I returned.

Zeref tugged on Anna's dress expectantly, "Tell me more about the cool magics!"

I smiled again.

Anna laughed, "In a little bit. Why don't you go talk to Igneel, he has something to give you."

Zeref grinned, "Okay!"

I watched Zeref run off towards his soon-to-be foster father.

"Today's the day." Anna said.

"Yeah…" I replied.

"Bet you're gonna miss him." Anna said.

She didn't know how much…

"Right again…" I told her.

"Do you want to tell him?" Anna asked me.

I nodded.

"Also, don't worry," Anna reassured me, "Igneel's going to take good care of him and then, when we go through eclipse, I'll be with him."

"You're right… Besides they need the time with their dragons to learn their dragon slaying magic…" I agreed.

"I'll go get him." Anna said while smiling sympathetically.

"Wait. I want to thank you for all that you've done to help. Our plan will work." I said.

"For sure!" Anna said confidently.

"Give my regards to Igneel will you?" I asked.

"Will do!" Anna reassured before she grinned and headed over to fetch Zeref from Igneel.

I've gotten less than a month to spend with Natsu, but it's okay… he needs to get stronger so that he can kill me.

Zeref walked over to me, a white scarf hung around his neck.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked curiously.

"Igneel gave it to me!" Zeref replied happily.

"Do you like Igneel a lot?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Zeref said, "He told me that he's going to be my dad now!" Zeref grinned.

"That's right." I told him.

"That means he's your dad too right?" Zeref asked, cocking his head.

 _I didn't guess he would say that!_ I thought while chucking. Zeref stared at me, wide-eyed; I didn't laugh too often.

After a second I answered his question. "Nope, he's only your dad."

"But we're brothers!" Zeref exclaimed, confused.

"Yes, but only you are going to stay with him." I explained.

"What about you?" Zeref asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about me," I said reassuringly. "your big brother will be fine."

Zeref looked at me nervously. "I'll still get to see you, right?"

"You'll see me again." I promised.

 _And by then hopefully you'll be able to kill me._

Zeref hugged me tightly. "Promise you'll be safe! I'll won't be bad while I'm waiting, no matter how long it takes!"

I hugged him back. "When'd you get so intuitive?" I asked warmly. "And don't worry, I promise."

Zeref clutched my robes tighter.

I felt my curse starting to act up and I said, "Alright Zeref it's time to let go now, it's not safe anymore."

I felt him reluctantly let go of my robes and tears started to well up in his eyes.

He sniffled. "B-bye, I love you."

"I love you too… bye Zeref…"

.

.

.

 **(Normal POV)**

It was the sun shining through the ship's window that woke Natsu. He yawned and sat up.

"I knew it…" Natsu sighed. The feelings of love he had for Zeref were strong, but now they were mixed with a strange desire for death that Natsu did his best to ignore.

 _That must have been about the 400 year plan…_ Natsu thought _...and that Anna girl, she looked a lot like Lucy... I also saw Igneel…_

"Igneel… I wonder how things with Zeref worked out with him. Obviously well enough beca- ...wait ...wait ...wait a second…" Fear started to build up inside of Natsu and he whispered, "I know how that turned out! I was there with Igneel! What the hell? Don't ...don't tell me I'm starting…"

 _...That I'm starting to forget my time with Igneel…_ Natsu finished in his head.

"No..no no no no no…" Natsu muttered to himself, "I refuse to forget that… I won't…"

Tears began to fall down Natsu's face, "...I won't…"

Natsu started to cry, a lot, but he tried his hardest to stay quiet.

.

.

.

A little while later, a knock came from Natsu's door along with a voice, "Hey Natsu, it's Lucy. Are you awake?"

Natsu tried to quickly wipe away the tears from his eyes, but he was still crying.

"I'm coming in, okay?" Lucy asked.

Natsu voice cracked as he spoke, "N-no, hold on!"

Lucy had started opening the door, but she froze when he spoke.

"You alright?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"D-don't worry about it!" Natsu assured.

Lucy spoke as she opened the door, "No! You know what Natsu?! I am going to worry abou-"

Lucy stopped speaking and her eyes widened when she saw Natsu.

 _Was he… is he... crying?_ Lucy thought, shocked. His cheeks were red and his face was wet from the tears.

Lucy quickly ran over to Natsu, stumbling a little bit, and hugged him.

"Lucy...I-" Natsu tried to speak, but Lucy cut him off.

She hugged tighter and said, "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, okay?"

Natsu inhaled sharply a few times and then the tears spilled over again as started crying again.

Lucy rubbed his back gently, trying to comfort him, and Natsu hugged Lucy back.

He started blubbering while his breath continuously hitched, "I-I'm so- so sorry! I've- I've been lying to you so- so much!"

"Natsu it's okay!" Lucy promised.

Natsu continued to blubber, "No it's not! I've been f-forgetting things and I- I- I'm worried I'll forget my whole family!"

Lucy's eyes started to water and warmly she said, "Even if you forget me I'll always be by your side, I promise!"

Natsu continued. "B-but Lucy you don't- you don't get it… I'm- I'm forgetting all my time with Igneel!"

Lucy was horrified, but she didn't know what to say.

Natsu went on, "A-And that's not all… I didn't- I didn't tell you what Zeref and I ta-talked about either! I'm not- I'm not only forgetting things! I'm remembering things that aren't part of my life too!"

Lucy started sobbing aswell and desperately said, "Natsu I didn't mean to put all this pressure on you!"

"I know you didn't want to!" Natsu cried. "But still! I didn't tell… I didn't tell you that I was Zeref's brother or that- that I really did forget Gray!"

These revelations were overwhelming Lucy and she just wanted Natsu to be happy.

.

.

.

Eventually, after telling Lucy almost everything, Natsu had calmed down, however he was quite embarrassed afterwards and couldn't look Lucy in the eyes.

"Natsu… thanks for telling me all that, I've been really worried about you." Lucy said warmly.

"I know, I'm sorry…" Natsu said glumly.

"At least now I know that you weren't actually keeping everything to yourself." Lucy said, "It makes sense now why you would have wanted to talk to Zeref."

Natsu felt awful about what he caused Zeref to learn and he decided that he would let Zeref be the one to tell the group, if he ever wanted too. However, he didn't think Zeref would forgive him for a long time, if ever.

"Yeah…" Natsu muttered.

"You know…" Lucy said, "You could always ask him to tell you about his time with Igneel once you've forgotten it…"

"I mean I could but…" Natsu trailed off.

"...but it wouldn't be the same?" Lucy guessed.

Natsu nodded. Suddenly Lucy looked around the room and she caught sight of what she was searching for.

 _Perfect!_ She thought.

Lucy ran over to one of the shelves, lined with books, in the room and pulled off a notebook along with one of the pens from a nearby holder. The room had obviously been prepared in mind of boredom. Lucy had to rip out a few pages with writing on them before she handed the two items to Natsu.

"What's this for?" Natsu asked, confused.

"You can write everything you want to remember in this!" Lucy exclaimed.

Natsu's face lit up and he took the book and pen from Lucy.

"It can be like a diary!" Lucy stated happily, "I have one too! I would recommend dating the pages, just a personal preference."

"Thanks so much Luce!" Natsu said smiling.

"I'm glad you're happy." Lucy replied.

Natsu opened the notebook and put the date at the top, just like Lucy said, and started writing everything he remembered about his time with Igneel.

Lucy snorted. _His handwriting is awful!_

"What?!" Natsu demanded.

"Oh it's nothing." Lucy said with a slight smirk on her face.

Natsu looked down at the book and back up at her and said, "Yeah I know my handwriting is bad! Yeesh!" Natsu blushed and turned away.

Lucy giggled, "Natsu it's fine as long as you can read it!"

Natsu grumbled, but started writing again.

.

.

.

 **Meanwhile…**

The cube finally arrived over top of Succubus Eye and Kyouka swiftly boarded it. Mard Geer and the other demons were waiting for her when she arrived.

"It's true then, you've seen Natsu?" Mard Geer asked expectantly.

Kyouka squeezed what was left of her right arm and said, "Yes, however he fought against what he has programed us to do."

Mard Geer eyed her knowingly and said, "So he was too much for you? I thought you were stronger."

Kyouka made no attempts at an excuse.

"Lamy." Mard Geer ordered. "Go heal her arm."

"Alright! Let's go!" Lamy sang, "Then we'll get to go to Natsu! Hehehehehe!"

Kyouka hesitantly followed after while saying, "They were headed South from here when they left."

Mard Geer grinned and said, "Jackal, Tempester, I want you to go track them down, but you must wait if you find him."

"Wait for what?" Jackal asked.

"You'll most likely understand once you see him. Now go!" Mard Geer ordered.

Jackal grinned before he and Tempester jumped off of the cube, crashing to the ground.

Back on the cube Franmalth cackled and asked, "What about the wizards they said were traveling with Natsu? Are we going to kill them? How much will they cost? How much will they cost?"

"Don't worry they'll all die." Mard Geer said. _And soon you'll all realize your true purpose._

"Why didn't you send me down?" Silver chuckled, "It would have been fun."

"In due time." Mard Geer responded.

"I'll be on standby then." Silver said as he walked away. And then maybe I can finally end all of these demons…

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alright how did you guys like the longest chapter yet. There are some parts I'm iffy about so I hope you liked it!**_


	24. Caring

_**A/N:** Okay, I posted this really late and I am sorry, I 100% failed at updating. I had to write a chapter for my other story and then school stole the rest of May, and the first __week of June, from me (I honestly didn't even realize how much time had passed). Then I had to actually write the chapter. However, my brain didn't want me to and it took_ _longer than I wanted! But, now I am more prepared to write chapter 25, and if writer's block comes back, I will beat it to death. Sounds good? Okay. (I suck at apologizes, I'm_ _sorry.)_

 _ **Response to whoever posted the really long guest review:** I really appreciate it and you made me laugh my __ass off at one point. Your thoughts were really interesting and it was_ _fun to read! Anyway, to answer your question: The spell did make them fully switch places, though the other ideas you had for how it could of worked were cool!_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters._

 **Chapter 24**

Caring

 _Back on the cube Franmalth cackled and asked, "What about the wizards they said were traveling with Natsu? Are we going to kill them? How much will they cost? How much will they cost?"_

" _Don't worry they'll all die." Mard Geer said. And soon you'll realize your true purpose underling._

" _Why didn't you send me down?" Silver chuckled, "It would have been fun."_

" _In due time." Mard Geer responded._

" _I'll be on standby then." Silver said as he walked away. And then maybe I can finally end all of these demons…_

 _._

 _._

 _._

"I need to take a break." Natsu sighed. He had been writing, and talking, with Lucy for quite a while and his wrist was hurting.

"Okay." Lucy said, "You wanna go get something to eat?" Lucy was starving. She was going to wait until Natsu asked to get food, but it hadn't happened, and she guessed it was around noon, by now.

"Sure!" Natsu agreed.

"Honestly I'm surprised you didn't ask earlier." Lucy laughed.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting about food, which is so unlike me." Natsu sighed, "Though, I do get hungry, if I focus on it."

"Oh right." Lucy said, embarrassed, "I forgot that you just told me you don't technically need to eat anymore."

"It's fine." Natsu said, as he hopped off the bed, "Food is still awesome."

Lucy laughed, "Then let's go get some."

Natsu put the notebook, and pen, back on the shelf in his room before the two opened the door and left.

As the pair walked into the hallway, they bumped into Zeref.

"Zeref!" Natsu exclaimed, nervously.

"You guys are lucky I had your backs." Zeref said, "If I hadn't shut the door, everyone probably would have heard you."

Natsu and Lucy blushed. _I didn't even notice he did that!_ Lucy thought.

"Don't worry I didn't listen." Zeref continued, "I was just coming to get you two. Everyone's up, but I covered for you guys, so don't worry."

"Thank you." Lucy said, gratefully.

Natsu nodded in agreement before saying, "Lucy will you go on ahead?"

Lucy understood what he wanted to do and, before leaving, she said, "Okay."

After Lucy was out of sight, Zeref asked, "What do you want?"

When Zeref wasn't in front of Lucy, he sounded a pit more depressed and that made Natsu feel like he got punched in the gut.

Zeref went on, "Earlier, after Wendy casted Troia on me, I told her about the dragons, she was confused, but happy."

"That's good…" Natsu said, quietly, looking at the floor.

Zeref's eyes shifted to the side and he spoke, "Listen… Natsu, while I'm upset at being a demon, I'm not really mad at you anymore."

Natsu's raised his head and asked, "Why?"

"Because…" Zeref said, "If you hadn't brought me back to life I'd be dead… and I quite enjoy my life right now, it's precious."

Natsu spoke warmly, "I'm glad. I want you to live happily. After all, your life is precious to me, too."

As soon as Natsu spoke those words, he felt the curse come crashing down and his fear skyrocketed. Without a second thought Natsu teleported off the ship and into the water, his head pounding. It was hard for him to stay afloat, because of the pain, but he couldn't die even if he did sink, so he wasn't scared, but drowning still wasn't fun so, he pushed himself to stay above the water.

Soon after the wave of magic had passed, Zeref's voice pierced the air, "NATSU!"

Natsu turned, hearing a splash off to the side. He saw Zeref swimming towards him.

"Zeref!" Natsu called back.

Zeref grabbed hold of Natsu and the water grew cold as an ice bridge expanded towards them.

Gray, who had made the bridge, helped pull the two out of the water.

"Why the hell are you in the water?!" Gray asked.

Natsu coughed a little before answering, "...My curse."

"Idiot!" Zeref shouted, punching Natsu in the arm, "I thought you were drowning!"

"I can't die." Natsu reminded him, weakly.

Zeref grimaced before he and Gray proceeded to help Natsu back onto the boat. Once they were finally back on board, Lucy tackled Natsu in a hug.

"Thank god you're okay!" Lucy said, relieved.

Invel was waiting with a towel for Natsu, while Zeref quickly dried himself off with his magic.

"That was really tiring." Natsu sighed, in Lucy's arms.

"Why don't we sit down then." Lucy suggested, to which, Natsu complied.

After they sat down Invel handed Natsu the towel.

"We should set up a small boat or something attached to the ship." Gray suggested, "Otherwise this same thing will happen again."

"I agree." Natsu added, from the side.

"The real question is why he was in the water in the first place!" Carla exclaimed.

"Well…" Happy mumbled, nervously.

"That's right," Zeref said, with realization, "I forgot that you guys don't know, but I guess you kind of need an explanation now. Is that cool Natsu?"

Natsu sighed and then said, "Yeah."

Erza nodded.

"Remember how Natsu was perfectly fine after he stabbed himself?" Zeref asked.

"Yeah, didn't Lucy say that he was immortal?" Wendy asked, worriedly.

Zeref nodded and continued, "Right, and the reason for that is that he's cursed."

"Cursed?" Carla asked.

"Yeah. The curse not only makes him immortal but, he sends out waves of killing magic. Apparently the more he values life the worse it gets." Zeref finished, trying to keep it simple.

"That's exceedingly dangerous, isn't it?" Erza asked, rhetorically.

"How have we not seen this yet?" Carla asked, crossing her arms.

"He teleports away whenever it's about to happen." Zeref explained.

"I see." Erza said.

"That explains a lot." Wendy commented.

"This isn't safe!" Carla huffed.

"He's the only one in danger!" Zeref said, "Jumping into the ocean, like an idiot!"

"What else do you want me to do?!" Natsu asked`, exasperated.

"I don't know!" Zeref said, "Let's just go with Gray's idea!"

"Okay." Natsu said, with finality.

"I can set that up, Natsu." Invel said.

"Thanks." Natsu replied.

A moment of awkward silence washed over the group and Lucy ended up being the one to break it, when she spoke, "Natsu, hand me the towel. I'll dry off your back."

"Thanks, I'm still soaking, and it's way chillier without enough of my magic, to heat me up." Natsu said, slightly annoyed.

Somewhat bashfully, Zeref took off his scarf and threw it at Natsu, as he said, "This is warm now, and besides It's your turn; I've had it for a while. Also... I can try to dry you off, if you want."

"Thanks!" Natsu said happily, standing up to get next to Zeref, who had set himself on fire.

Lucy smiled as she put down the towel.

 _._

.

.

 **With Jackal and Tempester…**

Since yesterday, the pair had been following Natsu's trail, subsequently leading the cube. However, they had just reached a dead end.

"Figures they would go to sea." Tempester said, as they stood on the beach.

"This sucks!" Jackal shouted, kicking the sand.

"Let's go report this to Mard Geer." Tempester said, "We can search for them from the cube."

"Fine, fine." Jackal agreed, irritated, "Let's go back."

 **On the cube…**

A newly healed Kyouka was there to greet them, "Did the trail disappear at the ocean?"

"Yes." Tempester answered.

"I'll inform Mard Geer. You two go inform Silver that when we stop the ship he is to go down and freeze the water around it." Kyouka ordered.

"I'll get to go down too, right?" Jackal asked, itching to spill blood.

"Certainly." Kyouka said, with a malicious smile, "Now go."

.

.

.

 **Back on the ship…**

It had been a couple of hours since the incident.

Zeref and Lucy were reading while the rest of the group were practically asleep so, Natsu had taken to just fiddling with his dragon slayer magic. He made the flames dance around his hand as he thought about Igneel.

 _Maybe, this morning, I was just hazy from the dream. Maybe I'm not forgetting Igneel..._

Natsu sighed and he murmured, "I doubt it..."

He let the small flame, in his hand, go out and pulled his scarf up over his nose.

 _Dad…_

Natsu looked over to Zeref, subtly. _Igneel's really inside Zeref, huh? ...I wish I could see him again, before I forget all the time I spent with him, all the things he taught me…_

Natsu bolted up, in shock. _If I forget everything I did with Igneel... Will I forget my dragon slayer magic...?_

"What's wrong?!" Lucy asked, startled by his sudden movement. Zere's attention also focused on Natsu.

Natsu replied quickly before bolting into the cabin, heading straight for his room, "Forgot to write some stuff down!"

 _Just in case I forget my magic, I'm writing down all of the spells, and everything about them, in that notebook_

As Natsu furiously scribbled away in his room, back on deck Lucy proceeded to explain what Natsu had meant by his earlier statement.

After she was done, Zeref said, "Okay, that makes sense, having a book to write down his memories."

Lucy nodded and went on, "We took a break earlier, because his hand hurt and we wanted something to eat but, anyway, he probably still has a lot left to write."

"I wonder what he's writing about, so urgently." Zeref thought, aloud.

"Probably Igneel." Lucy said, solemnly.

Zeref's eyes widened and he said, "Wait, is he forgetting him or something?"

Lucy nodded, looking down.

Zeref was horrified and he stuttered, "Is that why... earlier, why he was crying?"

"Mm." Lucy confirmed.

Zeref stood up, frantically, to go to him. Lucy grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?!" Zeref barked.

"Don't." Lucy said, looking him in the eye, "If he's upset again..."

Zeref paused in confusion and then, it clicked.

"Ah… That's right, he doesn't like to show weakness." Zeref said.

"Yeah." Lucy confirmed, "Though, I didn't realize that's why he wasn't talking to me until this morning. I guess he just couldn't take hiding it any more. He seemed so... scared. But... he was so _embarrassed_ afterwards. "

 _Fear and weakness..._ Zeref thought back to a while ago, when he fought Gildarts. "' _Fear' is not evil. It is to know your own weakness. If you know your weakness, people can become strong and gentle."_

Zeref mumbled, "I hope he's able to learn that, someday."

"What?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing." Zeref replied, "Let's wait for him to come to us, this time. Just in case."

"Yeah." Lucy agreed.

.

.

.

Contrary to what Zeref and Lucy thought, when Natsu was writing, he wasn't a mess. He had spent hours trying to remember how he got the hang of some of the spells and how Igneel taught them to him; to Natsu, it was almost fascinating.

Once Natsu had finally finished, he put the book back on the shelf and flopped down on his bed, thinking. _I've never really thought about hard Igneel must have worked to make learning it so simple_. _I really hope I can re-learn it, after all I don't think I did the best job writing down how to do that._

Natsu yawned and sat up. _How am I already sleepy? What time is it?_

He looked out the window, it was already night.

 _It's already dark out?!_ Natsu thought, breaking into a sweat. _I didn't even notice with the light lacrima this room has. I wonder if the others are still up._

Natsu got out of the bed and turned off the lacrima before he walked into the hallway, which was just as dark as room now was. He continued on into the night's chilly wind as he left the cabin; he wanted to see if anyone was out there, but to no avail.

"Isn't anyone up...?" Natsu sighed, a little louder than he meant to be.

Begrudgingly, Natsu escaped the cold as he went back inside, passing his friends rooms as he headed towards his own. When he got back he laid down on his bed. However he wasn't planning on going to sleep anytime soon, if he didn't have too.

Natsu rolled over on his side when, out of nowhere, he heard the door creak open.

"Who is it?" Natsu asked. He sniffed the air; luckily, Natsu still had enough senses to smell it was Lucy.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, surprised, but relieved.

He heard light footsteps as she ran over and then felt the spring of someone jumping on his bed.

"What are you-?" Natsu was cut off.

Lucy spoke, timidly, "I was sleeping lightly... and you woke me up when you spoke." She went silent and rolled over to face away from Natsu, not giving an explanation for why she came here.

Natsu had climbed into Lucy's bed many times before, but now, as he realized, she had jumped into _his_ bed for the first time. Even though it wasn't his actual bed, the realization made Natsu's face completely flushed and he mentally chanted to himself. _Don't let the curse start! Don't let the curse start! Don't let the curse start!_

Natsu grabbed a pillow and covered his face. _Gotta blank out my mind! If I don't think about it nothing will happen!_

Natsu did his best to stop thinking, though in his situation it was less than easy. _What do I do?! Fall asleep? No! I can't do that!_

Suddenly Lucy spoke, "Natsu... are you uncomfortable?"

Natsu removed the pillow on his before hastily replying, "N-No! I'm worried the curse will be triggered!"

Lucy sat up, worriedly saying, "It can be triggered just by me being next to you?! But earlier that didn't happen!"

"Um- Well, it's just the particular situation..." Natsu said nervously, fidgeting with his hands.

Lucy blushed and said, "I know it's weird, but I- I wanted to comfort you tonight and I also... No nevermind, forget that bit. I just wanted you to have someone with you now and in the morning, but if this is gonna make your curse act up..."

"No!" Natsu said, flustered, "I mean it is doing that, but I want you to stay here-"

 _Dammit!_ Natsu thought, as his head began to hurt.

"Hold on. I'll be right back." Natsu said, annoyed. He promptly vanished.

 **A couple minutes later…**

Natsu appeared next to the bed, left leg soaking.

"Natsu is that you?" Lucy asked, into the darkness.

"Yeah, I missed the small boat by a little and I ended up getting kinda wet. There should be some more clothes somewhere in this room." Natsu said.

Lucy listened to Natsu stumble around opening drawers and like, for a little bit, as he didn't turn on the light lacrima.

Eventually Natsu said, in triumph, "Found it!" Natsu began to change in the darkness.

"I'm sorry Natsu. This is my fault." Lucy sighed.

"No it's not!" Natsu exclaimed, "You were just being nice!"

"No, I was selfish." Lucy replied. Natsu heard her hop out of bed.

"Wait! Hold on a sec!" Natsu said, pulling up his pants.

Not being able to see, Lucy stumbled about and bumped into Natsu. He swiftly grabbed Lucy's hand, in response.

"I don't want you to go!" Natsu proclaimed, "And besides how were you being selfish?!"

"I didn't even think about your curse Natsu!" Lucy said, "It's not just dangerous to others, it hurts you too!

Natsu sighed, "I think I can handle a stupid headache for your company, Luce. Besides, you're not in danger 'cause I can teleport to that boat thingy and now I know that I have more than one pair of pants if I miss again."

Lucy blushed and mumbled, "But if I get back in the bed, won't the curse just go off again?"

"I can deal with that." Natsu said, "I only didn't want the curse to go off is because I knew that, when I came back, you'd try to leave."

"...Jeez...Okay." Lucy relented.

Natsu let go of her hand and the two began to head back to the bed.

As he slipped under the blankets Natsu said, "I really am grateful that you're here, tonight."

Natsu felt Lucy lay down on the bed and she asked, "You finished writing everything, right?"

Although he was surprised at the sudden change in topic, Natsu replied, "Yeah." _I almost forgot that I mentioned I was going to write some stuff down before I left, earlier._

"That's good..." Lucy said, quieter, "...Are you ready?"

"No." Natsu sighed, "Honestly, even though I'm tired, I probably won't go to sleep tonight."

"I get that." Lucy replied, "But don't wear yourself too thin, you'll only end up breaking down..."

Natsu sighed quietly and clutched his scarf.

Lucy continued, "...No matter when it is you forget, know that it won't be forever. I don't care how long it will take, I'll undo the spell. I promise."

"...Thank you..." Natsu whispered.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Alright, hope that was satisfying (I kinda struggled with this chapter). Also, I promise: No more gaps like this one! (_ _ง •_ _̀ω•́)_ _ง✧_ _(I hope that face thoroughly symbolizes my determination xD)_


	25. Attack

**_Disclaimer:_ **_I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters._

 _ **Update:** I forgot to add in a small bit with Jackal at the end. It's fixed now and I'll be posting the next chapter later today!_

 **Chapter 25**

Attack

" _That's good…" Lucy said, quieter, "...Are you ready?"_

" _No." Natsu sighed, "Honestly, even though I'm tired, I probably won't go to sleep tonight."_

" _I get that." Lucy replied, "But don't wear yourself too thin, you'll only end up breaking down…"_

 _Natsu sighed quietly and clutched his scarf._

 _Lucy continued, "...No matter when it is you forget, know that it won't be forever. I don't care how long it will take, I'll undo the spell. I promise."_

" _...Thank you…" Natsu whispered._

* * *

Throughout the night Natsu had to, occasionally, go to the small boat. But, as the night continued to wear on, Natsu reluctantly fell into slumber; he felt much more at ease with Lucy beside him.

.

.

.

 **(Natsu POV)**

 _It's finally done!_

I carried my research paper over to my teachers and two others. It took a long time to complete; I always struggled with writing and reading so I had to pour all of my attention into this.

"Th-This paper…" My teacher stuttered, "Are you telling me you wrote this?"

"Yes!" I said, beaming.

One of them spoke, "The content is superb, but the theme is a bit too grave."

 _Why?_ I thought, in dismay.

"This is not a subject a child like you should be tackling anyway." My teacher informed.

"As it is," Another one started, "The matter of human life and death in magic has been taboo since ancient times."

"Even adults should refrain from carelessly touching on the subject." One of them pressed.

 _Is it really that bad?_

My teacher agreed worriedly, "Yes… Lest they incite the rage of Ankhseram, the god of life and death."

 _That stupid god! They're always preaching about him!_

"Henceforth," The other said, "Ensure that you do not conduct any further research of this nature. Understood Natsu?"

"...Yes." I said, begrudgingly.

I stomped away, out of school.

"I just want to know!" I shouted, "I want to know why people are born and why they die!"

 _Zeref barely had anytime in life, so why was he alive in the first place?! Why make his life so short?!_

.

.

.

 **(Normal POV)**

"MMmmm…" Natsu groaned as he opened his eyes. His sleep had been restless. Natsu stretched out his body, yawning, before he sat up.

"...Natsu…?" Lucy mumbled, as she stirred.

Natsu's head snapped towards Lucy, remembering she was there.

"Lucy!" Natsu said, startled.

"What?" Lucy asked, still under the covers.

"I Didn't mean to yell, I just kinda forgot you were here." Natsu explained, embarrassed.

"Oh…" Lucy said, then it hit her and she sprung up, flustered. _I totally forgot that I did that!_

"What's wrong?!" Natsu asked, surprised by her sudden movement.

"Sorry," Lucy mumbled, "I forgot I was here too…"

Natsu snorted, "How?!"

"I don't know!" Lucy shouted, indignantly.

Chuckling, Natsu absentmindedly pulled on his scarf and then looked down at it, in confusion.

"Why do I have Zeref's scarf…?" Natsu asked in bewilderment.

Lucy's eyes widened and she asked, "You didn't forget… did you?"

"Forget what?" Natsu asked.

"Igneel!" Lucy shouted, desperately.

"Why would I forget Igneel?" Natsu asked, confused.

Lucy sighed in relief, "So you didn't forget him."

"I know I've been forgetting things, but I don't see why you'd be so concerned with me forgetting the dragon that raised Zeref." Natsu said. _I mean he was a good friend and great help, but-_

Lucy's panicked voice cut off Natsu's train of thought, "Igneel raised _you_!"

"What?" Natsu asked, "No he-"

Lucy practically jumped over Natsu to get to the notebook, on the other side of the room.

"What are you doing?!" Natsu asked, shocked.

Lucy yanked the book off the shelf and shoved it into Natsu's hands.

"My notebook?" Natsu asked, confused.

"You remember what it's for, right?!" Lucy asked, desperately. "Read it!"

Natsu opened the book and saw the first page titled "Igneel: My Dad"

"That's right…" Natsu said, "Yeah, I switched places with Zeref."

 _So since Igneel is Zeref's foster father now, that means he was my foster father._

"H-How are you so calm about this?!" Lucy shouted, tears welling up in her eyes, "You forgot your dad…"

Natsu looked down, almost in shame and replied, "I don't know…"

Lucy immediately felt guilty and she said, "Sorry, I know it's not your fault."

Natsu smiled, reassuring Lucy that he didn't hold it against her, and said. "I guess I'll read this, now."

Lucy sat down quietly beside Natsu, on the bed, but she was harboring a strong sense of helplessness. _It only makes sense, but it's like a part of him is gone… He still knows Igneel, but not as his father… he's probably lost a lot of his childhood memories and goal that drove so many of his choices…_

After a little while, Natsu looked up at Lucy and said, "Ask me questions."

"What?" Lucy asked, surprised by his sudden command.

"Ask me any questions you have about myself, Fairy Tail, our friends, our adventures, magic, anything." Natsu explained, "I need to check something."

Nervously, Lucy replied, "O-Okay. What's your favorite…um...food?"

 _God, that was pathetic!_ Lucy thought, in embarrassment.

"I-" Natsu paused, "I think it's spicy... or was it hot food?"

"Fire?" Lucy suggested, a little confused.

Natsu looked at her in bewilderment, before a serious look appeared on his face and he flipped through the book; he did so until he came across his answer.

"Yeah." Natsu finally replied, a little surprised. "It was fire."

"Did you forget that?" Lucy asked, growing more concerned.

"Mm." Natsu confirmed, "...Ask me another question."

"...What spell do you like to use the most?" Lucy asked.

"..." Natsu didn't reply right away. He only knew a handful of spells at present and he was sure that he had learned those after becoming the dark wizard.

Natsu flipped through the notebook, again, and found everything he wrote on spells; he then said, "...I used 'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist' the most… but I also really enjoyed using my lightning fire dragon slayer magic'..."

"You had to look through the book to know that...?" Lucy asked, horrified at the realization.

"Yeah, I don't remember any of this magic…" Natsu said, trembling, "...Ask me one more question; ask me one that you want to know, that I should have the answer for…"

Lucy thought for minute and then asked, "How did you come across Fairy Tail?"

Natsu replied, "I... Gramps, he found me at some point and invited me to join…"

"At least you know that." Lucy said, a little relieved.

"Yeah, but…" Natsu continued, shaking. "There are so many blanks afterward and as for before…I don't remember anything…I never realized how much I've been forgetting."

"Natsu…" Lucy whispered, sharing his fear.

"Lucy…I'm going to disappear." Natsu said, his voice thick with defeat.

Suddenly, Lucy grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly, insisting, "No you're not! I won't let you, I promise! Didn't I tell you last night that I would undo the spell! I won't ever let you disappear!"

"...Just because we don't want me to disappear doesn't mean I won't!" Natsu said, raising his voice.

"That's not true!" Lucy protested.

"I'm disappearing right now!" Natsu shouted, "...That's what I wanted to check...I wanted to see how much of me was left…"

"Natsu…" Lucy said, her voice quavering, "You're still here-"

Lucy was cut off as the whole ship jolted.

"What was that?!" She asked, in shock.

"I-I don't know." Natsu said worriedly, "Let's go see."

Natsu attempted to put aside all of his grievances for now.

"Yeah." Lucy agreed.

The two hurried outside and saw the rest of the group was up as well.

"What's going on?!" Lucy asked.

Zeref turned to her and said, "The cube in the sky, a guy came flying out of it… then, a second ago, when he got close to the water, he froze it."

"What the hell?!" Natsu muttered.

"I think it might be Tartaros." Zeref continued.

Everyone stood on the defense as a man rose up on ice, chuckling, "It's finally time to put an end to you, Natsu."

Natsu took a defensive stance and after the man came into view, Gray seemed to flinch.

"You won't be able to lay a hand on him." Invel announced, calmly.

Ignoring him, the man asked, "Now, which one of you is the man I need to slay?"

He looked over the group. Eventually his eyes landed on Gray and he froze.

He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, but even if he was going to, he didn't have a chance to say a word; another, presumed, demon had flung itself out of the cube, smashing into the ship.

"Shit!" Gray muttered.

This new, coyote-like, demon cackled as he stepped out of the hole in the ship, that he had created. "Finally! I had to chase your tails all over that stupid forest and I'm itching to get some payback!"

Natsu spoke up, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, fuzzy, but you won't even get to lay a finger on my friends!"

Natsu's voice seemed to pull the demon towards him and, once he saw him, the demon's eyes seemed to dilate.

His demeanor changed from cocky to predatory in an instant, putting the whole group on edge.

"Jackal?" The other man asked, wary of the sudden change. But, it seemed half-hearted.

The newly known as, Jackal, took a step forward, but was instantly covered in ice.

"What?" Natsu heard Erza mumbled, in surprise.

"That was my doing." Invel announced, "I assumed it would be fine to halt things before they went out of hand."

"Yeah." Natsu muttered, in agreement.

The group's attention turned back to the other man, expecting a similar move to the other demon.

However, they got no such response. The man almost looked defeated.

"What's wrong with him…?" Carla asked quietly.

"I-I don't know." Wendy replied, nervously.

.

.

.

 **On the cube…**

"What could he be doing?" Mard Geer pondered, with a smile.

Keyes, who was near by, spoke curiously. "Perhaps Silver isn't willing to end more human lives... But, who could be down there to cause such a change in his tale." Although Keyes was mostly speaking to himself, Mard Geer was listening.

Holding the book of E.N.D., Mard Geer stood up and announced, "I think I'll go see."

"Tell me what transpired in his story when you return, if you will?" Keyes requested, eagerly.

Mard Geer let out a small chuckle, "Very well. Then, don't let the others leave just yet."

He left the room, walking in a proud, but almost eerie fashion.

.

.

.

 **Back on the ship…**

Everyone stood on the defense, despite the man's lack of action.

He looked wistfully at Gray.

"I know you." Gray said, suddenly.

"You do?!" Lucy asked, surprised.

"I think so, but it's not possible…" Gray muttered.

"Who are you?" Natsu offered, for Gray's conformation.

The man looked vastly conflicted, as if he didn't know what his answer should be.

After a moment of silence, the man finally answered, "I'm might as well be a demon."

Zeref's eyes narrowed in suspicion. _He's avoiding the question._

Suddenly, something else came falling out of the sky.

"Another one?!" Happy asked, in disbelief.

This one also landed on the ship, but he broke nothing.

Natsu gasped when he saw what this new, smirking, demon held.

 _The book of E.N.D.!_

For some reason, probably a memory from the dark wizard that snuck in last night, Natsu now knew just what that book could do and how dangerous it was to everyone and to Zeref.

Getting that book safely out of the smirking demon's hands instantly became Natsu's top priority.

"That book." Natsu said, through gritted teeth, "Everyone, we need to get it from him in one piece."

Zeref looked at Natsu, knowingly. However he didn't understand why Natsu seemed so desperate.

"Why...?" Erza asked, warily.

"Because… it's dangerous and important. I don't know if all of you really trust me, but for this, if nothing else, please believe me." Natsu begged.

"...Very well." Erza agreed.

"Of course!" Wendy promised.

The others nodded at him, but Natsu could tell Gray was the most unsure. It would have to do for now.

The smirking demon laughed cruelly, at the group, and then turned to the other man. "I would normally dispatch you right here, but I'm feeling nice. And, Keyes would probably appreciate it if I didn't ruin his favorite toy. Go back to the cube."

The man looked at the ground solemnly before saying, "...And leave you here to kill them?"

"Why yes." The smirking demon said, with malice.

"No." The man said, sternly. "I won't let you do that!"

Immediately, the smirking demon was frozen where he stood and the man broke the book out his hands.

All of this transpired in a few seconds, which was just how long the layer of ice, freezing over the smirking demon, was able to hold him back.

"That stings." The smirking demon grimaced. It actually hurt more than he let on.

"Good. I've been waiting to do that for a while." The man said, fight in his words.

The smirking demon was about to take a step forward when the man warned, "Take another step and I'll snap this book clean in half."

Before the smirking demon could respond, Natsu snarled, "Don't you dare!"

The two demons stared in surprise before a sly grin spread across the smirking demon's face. "Do you not want to loose your best chance at dying, Natsu~?" He almost purred.

"What? No." Natsu growled. But, being reminded of that feeling, that longing, from a past night, a part of Natsu answered differently. _Yes!_ It frightened him.

The group, including the other man, warily watched the two interact.

Confusion flashed over the smirking demon's face for a second, before dissipating. "You don't want to die?"

"No, not anymore." Natsu hissed.

The smirking demon frowned and then shrugged. "Well it doesn't matter if you want it or not anymore. However, I am ever so curious as to why you don't want the book to be destroyed then. Surely it would be better."

"I have my reasons." Natsu spat.

"Whatever the case," The smirking demon said, "I've decided E.N.D. doesn't matter anymore. We had a plan to release him from the book, to help find you, but that'll no longer be necessary."

This statement confused Natsu. _Release him from the book? A plan? Doesn't he know he just has to open it?_ Natsu dismissed his confusion; It was better that this demon didn't know, anyway.

"Who are you?" Natsu asked, suddenly.

Disappointment flickered in the smirking demon's eyes and he said, "Mard Geer, King of the underworld."

"Well, Mard Geer," Natsu said, venomously, "You and that other demon there won't be releasing, or killing, E.N.D. anytime soon."

"I have no reason not kill the demon." The other man said, preparing to snap the frozen book.

Natsu's eyes widened in horror. "STOP!" He begged, "Please don't kill him!"

The fear in Natsu's eyes made the man pause and the rest the group stood, with mouths agape, at his desperation. Fear flared in Zeref's eyes

Something flashed across the other man's face and he walked over to Gray, unfreezing the book.

"I'm leaving this up to you, Gray." The man said.

"How do you…?" Gray trailed off in confusion, taking the book, "You can't be…"

The man stepped back.

Mard Geer watched, curiously; he no longer cared about E.N.D., but he was finding these humans entertaining.

 _Oh well, entertaining or not, they're about to die._ He held out a hand.

"What's he doing?" Lucy asked, nervously.

As she spoke, black fog began to manifest around them. The "magic" filled with malice.

"I don't know," Natsu said, his eyes flickering between Gray and Mard Geer, "but it can't be good."

Invel waved his hand swiftly, freezing the fog.

Surprise covered Mard Geer's face and he grimaced. "You could be quite the troublesome one, couldn't you?" Mard Geer said, with distaste.

"Anyone who will stand in the way of his majesty, Natsu, is to be promptly dealt with." Invel said, calmly.

"A lowly human thinks he can stop me?" Mard Geer chuckled, "You fools, I will fulfill my purpose to-"

Mard Geer stopped as a jagged ice spear was shoved through his gut. It hurt as if he was being ripped to shreds and he collapsed to the ground.

"Ice devil slayer magic…" He hissed, "...Curse you Silver…"

Gray's eyes widened at the man who had stabbed Mard Geer in the back.

"Silver…there's no way…" Gray muttered, "I mean, you died!"

"What do you mean?" Zeref asked. Focusing on the man, who he now knew was named Silver, Zeref realized just how much he smelled like Gray.

"What the…?" Zeref muttered.

"Explain yourself!" Gray demanded, angrily.

"...Very well…" Silver relented, "...But first, we need to get out of here."

The ice around the boat slowly melted away and he look down at Mard Geer, still crumpled on the ground, in agony.

"The rest of them will probably be arriving soon and I can't go back. Will I be able to travel with you for a short while?" Silver asked.

Natsu looked hesitant, but eventually said, "...Yes."

None of the others opposed him, at least vocally.

"Let's dump these two off the ship." Silver said, looking at the demon with disgust and something that seemed akin to pity.

"...Right." Erza said, moving to grab, the frozen, Jackal.

Silver froze Mard Geer's hands together, his feet as well, making the demon let out an undignified yelp.

Wendy looked away as they threw them off the ship. Even though they were demons and probably still did horrible things, it still seemed cruel.

"Let's go." Silver said.

The rest of the group nodded warily, looking at one another.

However, Gray focused solely on the man he thought to be dead.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I just wanted to let you know, in my headcanon, opening any of the demon's books will awaken or start up their instinct to kill Zeref (Natsu). However, some demons, like in Jackal's case, will have their book opened, but the pull is much weaker, because they are far away from their creator; this causes them to interpret their desire as just trying to find Zeref (Natsu), until they get close enough. It's the same feeling if their book has been opened, but then closed again._


	26. Goodbye

_**A/N:** So, for this chapter, I'm trying out a new style of how I write it. To me, if feels easier to read and neater, but let me know how you feel about it! Thanks!_

 _ **Update:** I just realized that I forgot about Hell's core (whoops), but everything's fixed now._

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters!_

 **Chapter 26**

Goodbye

" _Let's dump these two off the ship." Silver said, looking at the demon with disgust and something that seemed akin to pity._

" _...Right." Erza said, moving to grab, the frozen, Jackal._

 _Silver froze Mard Geer's hands together, his feet as well, making the demon let out an undignified yelp._

 _Wendy looked away as they threw them off the ship. Even though they were demons and probably still did horrible things, it still seemed cruel._

" _Let's go." Silver said._

 _The rest of the group nodded warily, looking at one another. However, Gray focused solely on the man he thought to be dead._

* * *

"How are you still alive?!" Gray demanded angrily, clutching the book of E.N.D. tightly. "What are you doing?! Being with those demons?!"

Zeref swore as though he felt a tightness around him, but couldn't figure out why. It was as strange as the sudden, painful chill he had felt earlier.

Silver looked at Gray, indecipherable emotions flashing in his eyes, as tears started to form.

"I'm sorry Gray…" Silver said, shakily. "I…"

"Y-You're my dad...you have to be!" Gray shouted. "But how?!"

Suddenly much of the group felt as though they were intruding on something not meant for them to hear.

"I don't have the right to be called that anymore." Silver said, his voice thick with regret. "I've done too much to hurt this world...parading around with demons, hell, I'm not even human anymore."

"What…?" Gray asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"I've been dead for 10 years. I'm just a corpse."

Gray's eyes widened in pure shock.

Silver began to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "Up there on the cube, there is a necromancer, who has a curse that allows him to control the dead. I'm just one of experiments…"

"Experiments...?!" Gray echoed, horror and disbelief plastered on his face.

Silver continued, "One to see how closely he could make the existence of a corpse resemble its

former self. I was only one among hundreds, but I have lived- no, existed this long...and it was all for revenge, revenge against the demons who stole my family away from me."

Silver slumped to ground. "I've learned a magic to kill demons and have been killing them in secret. I was going to kill Natsu too, after all he created those damn monsters, but...just now, now that I know you're alive...I realize that my hands are too stained to fight for either you, or Mika.

"That's why I gave the book to you, Gray. That's the book of E.N.D., the strongest, most vile demon of them all. It's up to you now."

Gray looked down at the book in his hands and then back at his father, not knowing how to respond.

Silver spoke up again. "...If you don't want to do anything, that's fine too. You're probably better off forgetting about me...I won't be around much longer anyways."

"What?!" Gray asked, worry filling his voice.

"Keyes, the necromancer, will surely realize what I've done and dispose of me sooner or later. So, before then I want to pass on my magic; one that is made to destroy demons, Ice Devil Slayer Magic."

"You're going to die…?"

"...I really have been a horrible father, leaving you all on your own."

"You didn't-!"

"Gray stop." Silver said. "I've wanted to leave this world for a while now...Though, I'm glad my last act was keeping you safe."

"It doesn't have to be your last!" Gray insisted.

"I just want to rest...with Mika…"

"Dad, please! I don't want to see you die again!" Gray begged, trembling.

Silver stood up, shuffling over to Gray; he enveloped him in a hug.

"It probably won't be much longer...so, for a little...for a little while longer, let me hold you…"

Gray started sobbing.

"You've always been our pride and joy." Silver said, a heavy-hearted smile on his face.

As Gray cried in his father's arms, the rest of the group was transfixed on the scene, watching in sorrow.

Lucy whispered into Natsu's ear. "We should leave them alone."

Natsu turned to her, being snapped out of his trance. "Y-Yeah…"

He tapped Zeref on the shoulder, signaling him to come, while Lucy got the other's attention. They all, then, went inside.

Zeref slid down against the wall, in the hallway. Everyone else was silent as Natsu thought.

 _I hope Gray doesn't do anything to the book. Even though it might be inappropriate right now, Zeref's life is more important._

Natsu sat down beside Zeref. "Hey…"

Zeref looked over, at Natsu. "...What?"

"The book...um could you make sure he doesn't do anything to it?"

While Natsu didn't remember that he, himself, used to have enhanced hearing, as well, he did know that Zeref had it.

Zeref recognized the letters on the book, earlier. It read E.N.D., which, he recalled that being what Natsu had called him, when he was talking to Invel. However, he had, somehow, failed to connect Natsu screaming "Please don't kill him!" to that.

"I already listened to their conversation enough." Zeref said, wanting to respect his best friend. He'd also had enough of eavesdropping.

"But-!" Natsu tried to protest.

"I get that it's important Natsu, but I have a feeling Gray won't do anything to it right away. Especially not after how much opposition you showed towards it."

Natsu looked at the floor, restlessly. _But, I don't think you understand_ how _important it is._

"Why is it important?" Lucy asked.

"Uh…" Natsu didn't know what to say, after all, this wasn't his secret to tell.

Zeref didn't speak either and Lucy looked nervously at the ground.

"S-Sorry." She mumbled. Natsu sighed and moment of silence swept over the group.

Suddenly, Erza broke the silence. "I'm going to go ask Invel if everything is working fine with the ship."

"Um…I'll come with you." Wendy said, trying to escape the heavy atmosphere.

"Same." Carla agreed.

"Happy let's go to my room." Lucy suggested.

"Wha- Why?" Happy whined, half-heartedly.

"Because." Lucy said, picking up Happy.

In reality it was because she felt that Natsu was itching to talk to Zeref, but that it was private. So, she and Happy headed off to the girls room. Silence swept over Natsu and Zeref, before Natsu finally spoke up.

"Zeref, the book-"

Zeref cut him short, ticked off. "What did I say?!"

Natsu tried to explain, "I-I know! But that book is very important! You know you are E.N.D. right?!"

"Yeah I know." Zeref huffed.

"Well that book is linked to you. It's like body link magic."

"What?" Zeref asked, confused and, now, slightly concerned.

"If I recall correctly, you should be able to feel whatever happens to the book; you'll also die if it's destroyed…That's why I was so adamant about the book!"

Zeref's eyes widened as he made the connection to earlier and he shivered.

"So...I could have died…?"

"So, can you please make sure the book is okay?"

Zeref looked as if he was debating with himself before, he said "No. I'm still not going to do it."

Natsu looked at him in dismay, but caved. "Fine...But, can you at least promise me if you feel anything wrong you'll go get the book?"

"I promise." Zeref said, sighing. "It's not like I want to die, anyway."

Natsu accidentally flinched, but waved it off, after Zeref gave him a concerned look. Natsu, instinctively pulled on the scarf again and looked down at in surprise.

"Oh yeah." Natsu mumbled, as he unwrapped the scarf from his neck; he handed it to Zeref.

"My turn?" Zeref asked, a little surprised by Natsu's willingness to hand it over.

"What? No- Oh...right. Yeah...I can recall us doing that."

Zeref gave him an apprehensive look. Natsu assumed Zeref wasn't sure if he wanted to know what came next. However, Zeref still asked.

"...Is everything okay?"

Natsu let out a deep sigh. "No."

"Do you want to tell me?"

Natsu contemplated his offer. "Maybe. I'm kind of sick of Lucy seeing all my meltdowns…"

"It's that bad?" Zeref asked, worriedly.

Suddenly, what Lucy had said to him yesterday came flooding back and Zeref said, "Oh my god! Igneel!"

"Did Lucy tell you?" Natsu asked, blinking in confusion.

"Yeah, she did. It was when you ran off, to your room, last night." Zeref explained, sheepishly. "So...anyway, did you actually forget him?"

"Yeah...well I have some memories of him, when you were really little." Natsu said, a little fondness in his voice.

"It's weird how _calm_ you are about this." Zeref commented.

Natsu sighed. "Lucy said the same thing and I don't really know why I am. Truth be told, I guess it's not forgetting Igneel, in specific, that bothers me, it's losing my memories, in general. So I guess I'm not actually calm…I'm just not super upset about this? Jeez, I don't know. This is confusing."

Natsu let out a dry laugh, but Zeref just looked at him warily.

"No, but...honestly," Natsu said, wrapping his arms around his knees. "I'm fucking terrified."

Zeref listened in silence as Natsu continued on.

"I can tell I'm different from how I used to be, that the old me is slowly, but surely, being replaced. There are these big holes in my life when I think back. My time in the guild is absolutely riddled with them, presumably the friends I've forgotten.

"But...I still remember some things. Even if they have holes, I can still recall so many of the fun times. Though, I think that's one of the things that scares me the most: The fact that I eventually won't remember those times,

"also, that this huge chunk of myself, that I've lost, is slowly being filled in with other memories. At first, I remember that I fought it; I insisted something that I can't remember, now, but I'm sure it was _something_ that grounded me…After all, I don't feel like I have that, anymore. I-"

Zeref cut him off. "Natsu. You have plenty of things you can use to ground you. You have so many friends back at the guild, and here. I'm sure of that; after all, I can remember them and if I really did take your place, I know that they care very deeply about you. Use the time you've spent together and keep a tight grip on each and everyone of them."

Natsu was silent for a minute, before he spoke. "I don't want to take them away from you…"

Anger flashed in Zeref's eyes. "This isn't about me! You need to stop making _me_ a part of _you_! Stop holding onto me! Let me go! You accepting me is breaking you!"

Natsu curled in on himself, remembering his talk with Mavis, knowing they were both right.

Zeref looked at him sullenly. "...and I don't think you can do that by yourself...So, I'm going to try. We'll no longer be friends like we have been. This will be our last talk together. You need to rely on 'your' old friends. Whether they're actually mine or yours, I'm sure they'll support you."

Natsu's breath hitched, but he didn't speak. He didn't want this to be the last time they were close. Unbeknownst to Natsu, Zeref was the one filling the hole, left behind by forgetting Gray, and he couldn't take having it punched through again.

Zeref stood up, looking down at Natsu who was curled into a ball. "We can be friends again, once everything is sorted out, if you want...but, for now, there are no more connections between us. We're just traveling in the same group."

Zeref proceeded to walk down the hallway to his room, leaving Natsu curled in a ball, on the floor.

Natsu didn't want to let him go. He was fighting against everything he shouldn't be. He _knew_ he needed to let Zeref go. He _knew_ that he needed to rely on his other friends, but even though he didn't want to forget them, Zeref was one of his friends too.

" _Do think you could have come to love him without those memories?"_

Natsu recalled Mavis's words and he quietly wailed, "Yes!"

But he knew he was wrong. Natsu had been bitter and frustrated with Zeref until emotions were forced on him. After all, Natsu wasn't one to stay angry at people he cared about.

"I would have eventually!" Natsu protested, quietly, "These are my feelings, too!"

Though, it hurt that he couldn't be sure.

.

.

.

 **Earlier…**

Kyouka ran into the throne room, in which Mard Geer usually sat.

"Mard Geer?!" She shouted.

However, Mard Geer was not there, only Keyes.

"Keyes!" Kyouka bellowed. "Did you sense Mard Geer's presence vanish?!"

"Y-Yes," Keyes replied, frowning. He seemed disconcerted. "Silver has finally betrayed us."

"Your stupid puppet killed Mard Geer?!" Kyouka snarled.

"Unfortunately-" Keyes was unable to finish speaking, because Kyouka immediately struck him down.

Her piercing glare viciously tearing into Keyes, as he began to disintegrate. "Mard Geer had the book of E.N.D. you fool!"

Although Keyes would be sure to regenerate, along with Mard Geer, at least all of his puppets would be gone. She then immediately headed out to tell the others, certain they would not succeed in killing Natsu without E.N.D.'s help.

.

.

.

"Dad…" Gray sobbed, as he stood next were his father had been.

" _I leave the rest to you. I sought out Ice Devil Slayer Magic, because E.N.D. is a fire demon. I don't know if you'll use it for that purpose, but please, at least use it to protect yourself from Tartaros."_

"I will…I promise!" Gray swore, as he held the book tightly, to his chest. A tattoo appearing on his right arm.

He looked up at the cube, not too far away; it had begun following them, again. If he was going to protect the ship he couldn't deal with the book right now.

He recalled how Natsu had begged for that book not to be destroyed and he sighed.

 _As much as it would, probably, be a good idea to break it now there has to be a reason for that. I'll talk it out later..._

Gray ran inside the ship and saw Natsu curled against the wall. He paused for a second, but continued on, to the boys room. He felt kinda bad for not doing anything, but there wasn't time right now.

He entered into the room and saw Zeref laying down in one of the hammocks.

"Zeref." Gray said, not all that surprised.

Zeref jolted in surprise and he fell out of the hammock.

"What the hell Gray?!"

Gray looked down at the dragon slayer, his eyes were red and his face was wet. Gray's eyes widened and Zeref noticed, he quickly looked away in shame.

Courteously, Gray decided to spare him the embarrassment, for now. There wasn't enough time anyway.

"The book of E.N.D.." Gray said. "I can't think of anyone else I'd trust this with right now."

Zeref glanced up at him, now realizing he could feel that his book was clutched to Gray's chest. Then, Gray extended the hand holding the tome.

"Take it, for now." Gray said. "Tartaros is heading for us again, but I've gained the magic to protect us from demons."

Zeref noted the tattoos on Gray's extended hand as he, shakily, reached out his own hands to take his book.

"Thanks." Gray continued. "We'll figure out what to do with it later. For now, I have some demons to slay."

Gray hurried out of the room.

 _Idiot._ Zeref thought. _Like I'll let you fight by yourself._

Zeref stood up, holding his book tightly. He looked around the room and spotted a drawer.

 _Not the safest place, but it'll have to do for now._

Zeref hastily headed out to Gray, passing Natsu in the hallway.

"Hey!" Zeref greeted Gray, making sure to wipe any leftover tears off his face.

"What are you doing?!" Gray squaked, in surprise and annoyance.

"I'm not letting you take all the glory for yourself!" Zeref remarked, a smirk on his face.

"What about the book?!" Gray asked, peeved.

"It's in a safe place." Zeref said, waving him off. "Well safe enough."

Gray grumbled, but let it go. The cube was steadily catching up to them.

.

.

.

Inside the ship, Natsu was still a mess. However, he had managed to stand up. His friends were going to be fighting and while he couldn't remember the magic he, once, had used, Natsu didn't back down from fights. He shakily headed over to Gray and Zeref.

"I'll do what I can to help, too." Natsu said, surprising the two mages.

Zeref eyed him warily, but then turned back, to face the cube. "Alright."

"They'll probably come straight for you, with full force." Gray commented. "So, now that I think about it, let's get off the ship."

"What?" Zeref asked, confused.

"Watch." Gray went to the side of the ship and proceeded to use his Devil Slayer Magic to freeze a large portion of water, making sure not to ensnare the vessel that they were riding on.

"Let's go."

"Right!" Zeref said.

Natsu nodded and they group jumped off the ship onto the ice.

"Damn! This is slippery!" Zeref remarked, almost falling over.

"I didn't notice." Gray said, teasingly. Though, in truth, he was worried this would end up being trouble for them, but what could he do?

"You know, won't my fire melt your ice?" Zeref asked.

Gray scoffed. "I think my ice can handle your fire."

"I hope so." Natsu commented dryly.

As the ship began to move on without them, demon started falling from the cube, in the sky.

"They're here!" Gray shouted.

Six demons had descended, landing on the ice; Kyouka, who the group recognized from before, had spotted him. When the other demons did as well, they seemed to tense up.

"Halt!" Kyouka commanded, waving her arm to the side.

The demons didn't relax, but they didn't move either.

Kyouka looked at three, also tense, mages. "Where is the book of E.N.D.?"

"Why the hell would we tell you?!" Gray spat.

"Because," Kyouka said, smiling. "We'll hold off our assault until later, _if_ you give it to us."

"Yeah, right!" Zeref dismissed.

Kyouka scowled. "...Very well."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :) Let me know what you think and if you have any questions, remember that I'm always willing to answer!_


	27. Fighting Pain

_**A/N:**_ _So on the last chapter I realized that I forgot that Hell's Core existed, as sad as that is, so I added a little bit to the chapter to fix that. It was just a couple lines that I changed, but it's still an important part in how the story will play out, so I felt the need to let you all know._

 _Also, I'm sorry that the chapter came out a few days late. It was my birthday this week, so I was busy, and as a beautiful present my internet basically went and jumped off a cliff, so we had to get a new router. On the bright side however, I'll be posting the next chapter two weeks from when I_ should _of posted this chapter instead of two weeks from today (so like five days earlier than normal) and this chapter is also a little bit longer than usual to make up for it, yay!_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters._

 **Chapter 27**

Fighting Pain

 _Six demons had descended, landing on the ice; Kyouka, who the group recognized from before, had spotted Natsu. When the other demons did as well, they seemed to tense up._

" _Halt!" Kyouka commanded, waving her arm to the side._

 _The demons didn't relax, but they didn't move either._

 _Kyouka looked at three, also tense, mages. "Where is the book of E.N.D.?"_

" _Why the hell would we tell you?!" Gray spat._

" _Because," Kyouka said, smiling. "We'll hold off our assault until later, if you give it to us."_

" _Yeah, right!" Zeref dismissed._

 _Kyouka scowled. "...Verywell."_

* * *

The female demon charged the group, the other demons following suit. She knew that the six of them had little chance of beating Natsu, however she couldn't help but aim for him and neither could the others.

Kyouka suspected that the three mages knew what they were planning, because of they immediately shielded Natsu, stepping in front of him as they took out their magic.

"Seilah!" she called.

Her friend nodded in response, preparing to use Macro on the two aggressive mages as the other demons assaulted the group randomly. Bewildered looks spread across the two mages' faces as they suddenly raised their fists to strike the other.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" Natsu squawked.

"I-I don't know!" Zeref cried back, as he dogged a kick from the ice mage.

"I think one of them is controlling us!" Gray suggested. "You're gonna have to take out whichever one that is!"

Natsu didn't know what to do, his head was still a mess, he couldn't think clearly. How was he supposed to figure out which one was responsible for this chaos?

 _Screw it! If I can't figure it out I'll just have to beat them all!_

As the six demons swarmed him, Natsu summoned a black orb of magic, similar to the one he conjured to free his friends on Tenrou Island. Despite the fact that Kyouka, somehow, had her arm back, the magic had severed it before, so Natsu proceeded to slam the magic into the closest enemy, a red and yellow demon. With a gaping hole straight through the demon, it crumpled to the floor and Natsu teleported out of the others' reach. His face erupted with a mixture of surprise and satisfaction. Natsu honestly hadn't expected it to be so effective!

"Was that it?!" He shouted to his friends.

"No!" Zeref hollered back.

Natsu watched as Gray took out the same ice magic he had used to create the floor that they were standing on. However, Natsu didn't have much time to focus on his friends' fight as the demons had rounded on him once again, ignoring their own fallen ally. However, they now seemed wary of the challenge before them.

But that didn't matter, Natsu was fired up and ready to kick ass, the fight clearing his mind of his earlier, unsavory thoughts. So he decided that if they weren't going to attack him he'd go to them! Natsu charged, slipping a little on the ice as he ran; he created another mass of dark magic as an idea popped into his mind.

Although, teleporting constantly would consume a lot of magic, it could definitely confuse the enemy if Natsu tried it. So, acting on his idea, the pinkette appeared above the demons' heads and threw the orb down at the remaining five; four of the demons, including Kyouka, sped out of the way, but a larger one tried to take his attack head on.

"Ezel!" Kyouka called angrily.

However 'Ezel' ignored her command. "I can take it!"

But, like expected, he could not. Natsu's magic eradicated the demon in one fell swoop. Kyouka clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, looking more disappointed than upset.

Natsu turned to face his companions. "Hey did-?"

However, he was cut off as Zeref let out a pained wail, clutching his right arm.

"Zeref!" Gray cried. "Shit! I'm sorry!"

The dragon slayer hissed his reply. "It feels like my arm's been ripped off!"

Panic sprung to life in Natsu, he had to stop this. Now. The pinkette looked at the four remaining demons.

 _Dammit! Which one is controlling them?! That Kyouka lady shouted at one of them before Gray and Zeref started fighting. Who did she call out to?! Sei-li? Sei-lah? That's a girls name, I think._

Suddenly, Kyouka started barking commands. "Torafuzar! Go catch up to the ship over there! Since it's not here the book of E.N.D is probably on it! Seilah! Make the ice mage use more of whatever that magic is, it's effective! And Tempester we need to start using our curses as well!"

The demon that Natsu assumed to be Torafuzar looked hesitant for a moment, peeling his gaze away from his creator. "Understood." He proceeded to run to the edge of the ice and jump off.

"Oh, right." Tempester said, realization written across his face.

"As you wish, Kyouka." Seilah replied.

 _I have to end this quickly, so we can chase after that Torafuzar one!_ Natsu thought.

Pinning his hopes on the chance that Seilah was a girls name, Natsu teleported next to the other female demon. The black-haired demon whirled around in surprise and Natsu punched her.

 _Shit! I'm not thinking clearly! I forgot the stupid magic orb-thingy!_

Natsu quickly began to conjure one, but the black-haired demon jumped out of the way, now focused on her creator. Despite the pinkette not taking the demon out in one shot, he had distracted her from controlling his two friends.

"Natsu! We're free!" Gray shouted as he shot his Ice Devil Slayer Magic across the frozen ocean, encasing Seilah.

"Seilah!" Kyouka hollered.

Natsu looked back at the pair and nodded. "Okay, but you have to hurry and extend the ice floor to the ship! One of the demons went after it!" Natsu eyed Zeref, who was clutching his arm on the ground. "I'll get Zeref back to the ship safely after I take care of the last two!"

Gray looked at Zeref hesitantly for a second before the fire mage spoke up, through gritted teeth. "Go! I'm fine!"

Gray nodded and headed off to catch the other demon, creating more of the icy floor as he ran.

Kyouka knew that they needed to retreat. Natsu had managed to catch all the others by surprise, with his teleportation, and the attack was the same one he had used to previously sever her arm, so it was powerful. And to top it all off, Kyouka assumed that many of her allies still underestimated Natsu's abilities.

Kyouka quickly tried to think up her next move. _Seilah's presence has begun to vanish which means she'll appear in hell's core soon, so all we have to do is aid Torafuzar and retreat!_

She swiftly sent green bolts of her curse hurtling towards the two mages, neither of which could avoid the attack. Natsu fell to the floor, wracked with pain, but Zeref got it the worst.

The fire mage roared in pain. "AauuUUGH!"

"Z-Zeref!" Natsu cried.

Kyouka's instincts were screaming at her to try and take Natsu out in his weakened state, but she knew doing so would most likely be futile and she didn't know what other magic her creator had either.

 _We just have to hurry and get the book of E.N.D.!_

"Tempester let's go! Make sure they don't follow us!" Kyouka ordered.

Tempester nodded and they took off across the frozen path the ice mage had created.

"Damn." Natsu muttered, still clutching himself on the ground. "Hey, Zeref are you okay?"

The dragon slayer, in question, had gone silent a minute earlier.

"N-No," Zeref hissed. "I don't even want to try and move. My arm is the worst of it."

Natsu felt a deep sense of relief in knowing that zeref was still conscious. He also reciprocated his brother's feelings, but knew that they had to get a move on.

"Listen, I'm going to grab you and teleport us back to the ship, think you can handle that?"

Zeref gritted his teeth. "...Yeah."

Natsu took a deep breath and materialized himself next to Zeref, his arrival sending pain shooting throughout his body. Natsu sucked in a deep breath, preparing himself for one more go.

"Ready?" Natsu asked Zeref.

"Mm." Zeref replied, tensing up.

As soon as he received the go-ahead, Natsu swiftly grabbed Zeref's shirt and teleported to the ship's deck. Zeref bit back another scream as they arrived, collapsing on the floor, and Natsu yelped.

"Damn," Natsu wheezed. "I'm almost out of magic power."

"We have to tell the others." Zeref muttered, trying not to move.

"I agree," Natsu replied. "while I don't think I can stand, Wendy has Dragon Slayer hearing so maybe we can just yell."

"Won't that attract too much attention?" Zeref murmured.

"Yeah, but if I get her to come over in one go it most likely won't be a problem. Plug your ears." Natsu commanded.

Zeref hissed in annoyance. "I don't think I can, more like I really don't want to move right now. I'm just going to have to try and take it."

Natsu looked at him sympathetically. "Sorry."

"Just do it." Zeref said, bracing himself.

Natsu sucked in a breath and howled at the top of his lungs. "WENDY! BRING ERZA AND EVERYONE ELSE! HURRY!"

Despite the pain it caused, Zeref instinctively curled in on himself, covering his ears at the deafening noise.

After a second, Natsu worriedly asked, "Zeref are you okay?"

Zeref managed to choke out a whimper in response as he stayed perfectly still, trying not to move.

"I'm sure Gray'll take Kyouka out soon." Natsu tried to reassure.

As soon as Natsu finished speaking those words Tempester landed next to the pair on the ship.

The demon spoke quietly. "I'm surprised you were willing to move."

Suddenly, Wendy ran out onto the deck with everyone else, including Invel, right behind her. "Natsu?!"

What's going on?!" Erza demanded.

"That's a demon." Natsu explained, shifting his eyes towards Tempester.

Knowing that he didn't have much time, Tempester briskly walked over to Zeref and Natsu, stepping on the face of the raven-haired mage.

"Get off of him!" Natsu snarled. He made a move to grab Tempester's leg, but the demon was having none of it.

He placed a hand on Natsu and uttered, "Impact."

Natsu was sent flying back into his friends, pain rippling through him while he screamed.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted as he collided with the blonde.

"Your Majesty!" Invel hollered, falling back into old habits.

Tempester spoke up. "Give me the book of E.N.D. or I will kill your friend."

"...D-Don't you touch him!" Natsu shouted, his worn voice raising as he spoke.

Tempester pushed down on Zeref's face, who wailed in response.

"Stop it!" Erza bellowed, rage burning in her eyes.

"Give me the book of E.N.D.." Tempester repeated.

"We don't know where it is!" Happy yowled.

Tempester raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" The demon proceeded to lift his had towards the sky. "If I do not have the book within a minute I will strike him with lightning."

"We honestly don't know where the book is!" Wendy cried.

Zeref was engulfed in complete pain as wheezed out, "I won't ever let you have it."

The dragon slayer recalled the words that Mard Geer had spoken to Natsu earlier.

" _I've decided E.N.D. doesn't matter anymore. We had a plan to release him from the book, to help find you, but it looks like that'll no longer be necessary."_

Zeref didn't want to take the chance of whatever him being 'released' meant and although Mard Geer had said that they were just going to use him to find Natsu, Zeref had a feeling they would end up doing much more than that with him. Zeref gritted his teeth.

 _I'm not going to let them use me like a puppet!_

As his friends watched, completely anxious and enraged, Zeref proceeded to light himself on fire; Tempester immediately sprang off of his victim and Zeref began to shakily stand up.

"You're going to leave me and my friends _alone_!" Zeref roared, his fire flaring up with his anger.

He took a bold step towards the surprised demon, sending pain shooting up his right leg. Ezra steadily walked up next to Zeref as she addressed the demon.

"Try and hurt any of us again and you _will_ regret it dearly."

Tempester's calm and collected demeanor returned before he said, "If you aren't willing to give me the book I'll simply dispose of you all and find it myself."

Natsu growled at the demon. "I'll get rid of you just like the others."

Invel briefly interposed. "You need not continue to bother yourself with such rabble."

Tempester wore an, almost, amused look on his face. "Not one of us is dead. My allies will all have been revived by the end of the day."

Lucy's eyes widened in terror. "You can't die…?"

"Correct, so you best give up now." Tempester said.

"We won't ever give in to a brute like you!" Carla huffed.

"That's right!" Happy agreed determinedly.

"Very well, then all of you will be eliminated." Tempester informed them.

A soon as Tempester spoke those words he rose his arm once again. "Thunderbolt."

Zeref and Erza were encompassed in a sphere of lighting. The redhead quickly pushed Zeref out of the sphere and requiped into her Lightning Empress Armor. Zeref cursed loudly as he stumbled backwards and Erza took Tempester's attack head on.

"You'll have to do better than that," Erza said. "I know a mage who's lightning is far superior."

Erza swiftly charged the demon sending out a blue beam of her own lightning. Tempester briskly dodged the attack. "Cyclone."

Tempester came launching towards her, the whirlwind behind him pushing him forward. Once again, Erza requiped, but this time into her flight armor. She avoided the attack with ease and zipped behind Tempester, getting in a multitude of slashes. The demon grunted in pain and whipped around to face her, but Erza was already on the other side of him. This cycle continued to repeat, Tempester growing ever angrier as the battle went on.

Off to the side Natsu muttered, "I can help too."

The pinkette attempted to start walking over to the fight, but Lucy grabbed his shoulder making him flinch sharply. The blonde quickly removed her hand, but still sounded stern was she spoke.

"No you can not! You look half dead and you seem like you're in a lot of pain!"

Natsu clenched his fists in annoyance, because Lucy was right, he was in no shape to be fighting.

"...Gray is probably fighting two demons down on ice right now...One of them is responsible for the pain we're feeling and Gray is most likely in the same boat as Zeref and I are right now."

"Ice?" Lucy questioned. "What Ice…?" Her words trailed off as she looked towards the ocean, gazing upon the vast amount of frozen water. "Oh."

Natsu continued on. "So, someone needs to go help him, now. And if no one thinks they can take those demons I'll go."

"Same here." Zeref hissed out, clenching his right arm from the pain of being pushed by Erza.

"You're in even worse shape!" Wendy cried, joining in on the conversation.

"Yes, she is right." Carla agreed steely.

"Zeref is smart enough to know when he needs to stop!" Happy tried to defend.

Natsu immediately interjected, "No, he's stubborn."

"Like you aren't." Lucy muttered.

"I have to help Gray." Zeref insisted, ignoring the comments about him.

"Then at least let me heal your wounds first." Wendy pleaded. "I don't think I can do anything about the pain, but I can fix your arm."

Zeref gratefully accepted. "Alright, thanks."

Wendy immediately set to work healing his right arm and everyone could very clearly see Zeref's posture relax, despite his face still having determination scrawled across it.

"I'm done." Wendy informed him.

Zeref nodded in appreciation, but then winced at the movement. He took in a deep breath and headed for the edge of the boat.

"I'm going too." Natsu growled in frustration.

Invel frowned at Natsu's heightened stubbornness.

"No!" Lucy insisted worriedly. "I can tell you're really low on magic, along with everything else!"

"I'll go instead." Wendy offered.

"Child!" Carla shouted in exasperation.

Wendy continued to address Natsu. "You, Happy, Lucy and Invel can stay here and give Erza back up, if she needs it."

"Only Natsu can give me orders." Invel said, giving Wendy a cold look, to which, the young dragon slayer looked away sheepishly.

"Zeref's just as beat up as I am!" Natsu protested. "So why does he get to go?!"

"Like I said before," Lucy explained, " _You_ are low on magic, _he_ is not."

Natsu looked thoroughly unhappy, but he knew that his friends weren't ever going to let him go, so he didn't put up anymore of a fight. However…

"No!" Happy interjected. "I'm going wherever Zeref goes!"

Zeref looked back in the direction of his friend and managed a grin. "Come on then!"

Happy lit up and immediately whisked himself over to Zeref.

Carla sighed. "Stupid tomcat…"

"Let's hurry!" Wendy urged.

Carla reluctantly picked Wendy up and the pair flew off of the ship, following Zeref and Happy.

* * *

Gray was in deep trouble. He was a ways away from the ship when he ended up spotting Torafuzar, but the demon looked different; he was more sizable and he almost looked as though he was made of metal. Noticing this could mean trouble, the ice mage immediately attempted to freeze the demon underwater, but Torafuzar quickly dodged it, shooting himself out of the ocean and onto the ice.

Gray swiftly molded a weapon. "Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword!"

The ice mage grazed the his arm as Torafuzar attempted to dodge. The demon visibly winced, but didn't show any pain on his face, instead he charged Gray. The Devil Slayer held up his arms to block the demon out of instinct, but quickly realized if he just got himself together and froze the demon then everything would go smoothly.

Torafuzar was a mere foot away from Gray when he was iced over. As the the demon's frozen body loomed over the ice mage, a huge expanse of blackened water appeared overtop of the demon. Gray's eyes widened in surprise.

"Ice Make: Shield!"

The water slammed against Gray's barrier and sprayed over top of him, the icy floor was now covered in the black water and it just kept coming.

"What the hell is this?!" Gray yelped.

The ice barrier began to crack as the water only got stronger and it was now soaking Gray up to his knees. As the ice mage tried to hold up his wall he heard footsteps in the distance. He turned his head back in worry and it was well deserved; the other two demons he had left behind were running towards his direction.

 _What do I do?!_ He thought frantically. _Does this mean Natsu and Zeref got taken out?!_

Ice Make: Kite!" Gray called.

The kite appeared underneath him and he used it to shoot himself out of the way of the black water, letting his ice shield crumble as he did so. After all, Gray couldn't be in such a vulnerable state when the other two demons arrived.

Gray jumped off of his kite and let it disappear. He got ready to use his Devil Slayer Magic again, but the demons didn't even come close enough for him to freeze the pair; they paused a ways away, taking in the scene of the black water that was quickly covering the ice. Kyouka turned to the other demon, Tempester, Gray remembered. It looked as though they were talking to each other before Kyouka turned back in Gray's direction. Suddenly, a bright green light enveloped her.

Gray hastily prepared an attack. "Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction bow!"

He shot the frozen arrow towards the demons, aiming for Kyouka. However Tempester quickly intercepted it with a cyclone he manifested. The green light around Kyouka then shot towards Gray like a homing missile. He attempted to run, but it kept following him so he briskly waved his hand back.

 _If I can't run away I might at least try and freeze it!_

Gray did a swift U-turn and saw that he had, in fact, frozen the attack. The ice mage let out a sigh of relief as he looked up at the two demons, a fleeting look of astonishment on their faces. Kyouka seemed to say something to Tempester again before the latter spontaneously charge Gray, a whirlwind shooting him forward.

The demon spoke as he got closer. "Inferno."

Gray was swiftly enveloped in a mass of flames. Of course, they burned, but it was nothing compared to Zeref's flames.

"You think this weak fire will do anything? Zeref's flames are way hotter!" Gray taunted, easily turning them to ice.

"Yes." Tempester said seriously.

Suddenly Gray saw movement out of the corner of his eye and, out of nowhere, Kyouka was beside him, two fingers touching her forehead and a malicious grin plastered on her face.

And then, Gray couldn't see. The ice mage stumbled backwards, his feet splashing into the, here shallow, black water.

"W-What did you do?!" Gray shouted as his assailants.

"I took away your sight!" Kyouka laughed cruelly.

Gray felt himself get punched in the side and he was sent sprawling, landing deeper in the black water.

"Dammit!" He choked out, attempting to get back on his feet.

He listened for the sounds of footsteps, trying to keep his cool.

 _I'll be fine as long as I listen_. Gray thought, attempting to reassure himself.

Out of nowhere a shout pierced the air. "Wendy! Bring Erza and everyone else! Hurry!"

 _Is that Natsu?!_ Gray thought in surprise, he couldn't tell where the noise was coming from, but he hoped that Zeref was okay as well.

"They're on the ship?" Gray head a bemused Kyouka mutter. "I thought I told you to make sure they didn't follow us, Tempester."

 _She's close!_ Gray thought, his panic rising a little.

Also nearby, Tempester said, "I did, they must have teleported. I can't believe they were willing to move while afflicted by your curse."

Kyouka clicked her tongue in disatisfaction. "Since Torafuzar is frozen, go get the book of E.N.D.."

"Right." Tempester agreed.

He heard quick footsteps heading away from him. "Stop!" Gray demanded, but the demon didn't heed his words.

Kyouka chuckled. "Now I can finally have some fun." The chance was too tempting to pass up.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray shouted, shooting his attack in the direction of the demon's voice.

"Now we can't have that!" Kyouka cackled.

Suddenly Gray was hit with electrifying pain. The ice mage howled as he doubled over.

 _D-damn...she must have been powering up an attack..._

Kyouka kicked Gray deeper into the water, sending pain shooting through his body.

Gray could barely get out a scream. "Aah- Ah-!"

Kyouka grinned sadistically. "It seems I didn't go hard enough on your friends, so I'll just up the ante!"

Gray didn't want to move. He knew that he had to fight back, but it hurt so much. It even caused him torment as the water disappeared underneath him.

 _Wait, the water is disappearing…?_

Kyouka sighed. "It seems Torafuzar has finally died, oh well."

Repulsed by her attitude towards her comrades, Gray tried to ask, "How can you-?!" However, he was unable to finish as Kyouka kicked him again, causing the ice mage to cry out in pain as she spoke again.

"Your magic really is troublesome, isn't it? You even froze Seilah. I'm guessing that puppet, _Silver_ , gave it to you!" She sneered. "And since I can't pay that traitor back himself, I'll torture you instead!"

Although the demon hadn't said much, Gray was pissed. "My father was right to betray you devils! The demons of the books of Natsu are all monsters! I swear that I'll slay every last one of you!" As Gray finished speaking, he dragged himself to his feet.

"Father?!" Kyouka shouted, howling in laughter. "That makes this all the more enjoyable! Let's see if you can!"

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I just want to say, when I was almost done editing this chapter, I accidentally closed the tab and I hadn't saved. So, I had to stay up for another hour...whoooo..._


	28. Shame

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

 **Chapter 28**

Shame

" _Your magic really is troublesome, isn't it? I'm guessing that puppet, Silver, gave it to you!" She sneered. "And since I can't pay that traitor back himself, I'll torture you instead!"_

 _Although the demon hadn't said much, Gray was pissed. "My father was right to betray you devils! The demons of the books of Natsu are all monsters! I swear that I'll slay every last one of you!" As Gray finished speaking, he dragged himself to his feet._

" _Father?!" Kyouka shouted, cackling. "This make it all more enjoyable! Let's see if you can!"_

* * *

Gray was on high alert after he stood up, because, seeing as he had no vision, the ice mage wouldn't be able to tell when an attack was coming.

 _I'll have to let her hit me. As soon as she makes impact I'll launch an attack in that direction. I have to withstand the pain or she'll end up torturing me._

Gray waited, completely still as Kyouka circled him, as silent as could be. He couldn't tell where she was, but Gray was sure it would all work out. It had to, didn't it?

Suddenly, Gray felt an excruciating scrape across his side and he screamed. Trying not to double over, Gray shot Devil Slayer Ice in the direction of the attack. It had no real shape, he didn't have the concentration for that. Gray heard a muffled yelp. He had hit her! The ice mage filled with vicious satisfaction.

Remembering his wound the Devil Slayer quickly iced over his injury. However, the pain was still there.

"I'm going to make you _regret_ trying to fight back!" Kyouka hissed, her anger seeping into her voice.

Suddenly, Gray felt a million times worse and he howled in pain. It was as though he was being stabbed with a knife on every inch of his body and the wounds felt like his body was being ripped apart there; he fell to the floor, despite his efforts to stay afoot.

Enjoying Gray's agony, Kyouka laughed. "I'll make you experience only pain, even the ground below you will make you feel as though you're being tortured in hell!"

And then, Gray couldn't hear anymore, with the pain raising exponentially it was a hellish torture, just as Kyouka had said. But he couldn't give in, Gray had sworn to kill them, he had to endure it. The ice mage tried to stand up, pain racking his body as he did so.

 _I will not give in! I can't!_

As he finally brought himself to his feet, Gray felt something hit his stomach. It sent him skidding across the ice and suddenly his pride didn't matter anymore. The ice mage curled up into a protective ball as he came to a stop. It hurt, it hurt so much. He wanted it stop, he _needed_ it to stop, but it wouldn't.

* * *

Happy flew Zeref quickly along the ice, Wendy and Carla following behind them. The fire mage was still hurting, but when he finally realized what was in front of him, he was practically seeing red.

His best friend was on the ground, not fighting back as the demon launched continuous attacks on him. She was laughing as she tortured Gray, the ice mage wasn't screaming, but Zeref could hear the occasional gasps every time he was hit.

Happy yelped in horror, speeding ever faster as Zeref shook with rage.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Zeref screeched.

Kyouka turned to face her new opponents, grinning sadistically. "Have you come to save your friend?"

Happy launched Zeref at the demon, as the latter engulfed himself in flames. As he drew close, Kyouka put two fingers to her forehead. Zeref's whole body went numb as the demon raised her other hand, her fingers extending into long whips.

The Dragon Slayer was so close, just mere feet away, as he was slammed into the ground. Even though his pain was still heightened, and that was all he could feel, Zeref cried out, not because he was hurting, but because he was furious.

The demon stalked over to him, a smirk plastered on her face. Zeref tried to threaten her, stand up, anything! But he couldn't, the lack of feeling made it hard for him to even talk, when he tried all that came out was a mess of noise.

Kyouka opened her mouth to speak when, suddenly, the fire mage heard a distressed cry from behind him. "Zeref!"

 _Happy!_

Delight spread across the she-demon's face and panic shot through Zeref. He wanted to warn say something to stop his friend from coming any closer. Even if it just came out as a jumble of sounds, he still had to try.

"Ha-y! Ha-y sto-ph!"

"HAPPY STOP!" Wendy's voice rang clear in the air, apparently she had understood.

A sharp pain stabbed at the top of Zeref's head as he was lifted off the floor. He was raised to Kyouka's face and, like a dam had burst, all of Zeref's rage reemerged. The Dragon Slayer burst into flames and the demon abruptly let him fall to the floor.

Scowling in anger, Kyouka knelt down next to him as she hissed, "You're going to watch and then, once they're dead, I'll torture you."

Zeref let out a roar, animosity coursing through him as his fire flared up. The she-demon simply walked past him and, presumably, in the direction of Wendy and the Exceeds.

"En-dy! Oo haf oo geht helph!"

As much as Zeref wanted to rip Kyouka to shreds, he realized that there was no feasible chance that the four of them could beat her and save Gray as they were.

"R-right!" Wendy shouted back.

Zeref heard Kyouka's footsteps stop as Happy wailed, "We'll be right back Zeref! I won't leave you behind!"

After a minute the she-demon stalked back over to the fire mage. "Tempester will take care of them, but if they do come back I'll take my time having fun with the lot of them, before getting the book of E.N.D.. After all, it seems as though the lot of you are only capable of taking us out by surprise."

Zeref growled in response, as Kyouka headed towards Gray, still unmoving on the ground. She was going torture him. It was unavoidable at this point, it was fun to her. So Zeref was going to have to do everything in his power to make her bored.

 _I can't react. I can't yell, scream, growl. No begging. No expression. Keep my eyes closed. At least if she gets mad at me she'll hurt me instead._

* * *

Natsu laid against the wall of the ship's cabin, trying to regain some of his strength. Lucy's eyes flickered between him and the ongoing fight between Erza and the demon. From what she could tell, they were evenly matched. It was intense, though the blonde was honestly surprised that they hadn't wrecked the ship; she couldn't help but wonder if the requip mage was consciously trying to avoid that.

A panicked voice rang throughout the air. "Natsu! Lucy!"

Natsu immediately looked up in the direction of the voice, along with Invel and Lucy.

"Wendy?" Lucy asked nervously.

Natsu attempted to stand up, but Lucy stopped him. "I'll see what's wrong. You get some rest."

The pinkette gave her a look, but relented. Lucy hurried over to the edge of the ship and spotted the Carla carrying Wendy, Happy was also close behind.

As soon as Wendy saw Lucy come up to the edge of ship, she cried, "Lucy! They need help! The demon has the ability to take away movement!"

"What?!" Lucy yelped.

Lucy heard Natsu stand up behind her. Carla hurriedly landed on the ship, and Happy flew into the blonde's arms, wailing.

"Lucy we have to help them! Zeref and Gray are going to be tortured!"

Natsu growled tiredly. "Like hell they will."

Lucy nor Wendy made any move to stop him, so Invel shoved Natsu to the ground. "You will be staying here, with the Celestial Mage."

Natsu hissed in pain before glaring up at the man. "I thought that _I_ was supposed to be the one in charge of you."

Invel replied calmly. "You are. However, given that you have become rather prone to endangering yourself, I must do what is in my power to keep you out of harm's way."

"You do remember I'm immortal, right?!" Natsu snapped back.

Invel nodded. "Yes, but besides that, a subject does not allow his ruler to do all the work. You should not concern yourself with these demons any longer. I will dispose of them."

"What if I want-!"

Invel cut him off. "Blue cat." Happy looked up from Lucy's arms. "Take me to Zeref and the ice molder."

"Hey!" Natsu protested.

Although Happy didn't fully trust Invel, the man had been helping them a lot and if he was offering to save his friends, Happy would gladly take him up on that.

The exceed nodded, wriggling out of Lucy's arms. "Right!"

"Wait!" Natsu tried to demand.

However, Happy had already grabbed hold of Invel and was taking off.

* * *

Zeref's assumption had been right. Kyouka had gotten irritated at him, but the result was far worse than the fire mage had thought. The demon had chosen to enhance his hearing, tenfold. He could here every single thing down to the drops of blood rolling down Gray's body. It was excruciating to hear and he was beginning to feel desperate. However, Zeref knew he could not give into these feelings. If he did it would probably only get worse for Gray.

 _I just have to wait. Just a little bit longer and help will come...Dammit, I'm so pathetic! I can't help in the slightest._

However much the Dragon Slayer loathed his hearing right now, it allowed him to hear Happy zipping towards him. He sighed in relief, which was probably a mistake, because Kyouka looked up from Gray and noticed the enemy. No, it was a good thing. She had momentarily stopped assaulting Gray.

For the first time in awhile, Zeref opened his eyes as an unexpected voice addressed him, his enhanced hearing making the voice seem almost unbearably loud. "It would have been far more convenient to let this demon get you out of his majesty's way. However, he would very much disapprove of such a decision."

Happy's ears flattened and his fur fluffed up in response to Invel's cold words.

"I on't wike oo ear assole." Zeref attempted to snap back.

One corner of of Invel's mouth quirked slightly upwards at Zeref's current speech impediment.

Kyouka, who had been observing they're interaction, finally spoke up. "I was rather hoping for one of the people the fire mage cares about to come back, but I guess you will have to do. After all, you could be fun to break, with that confident composure you have."

Invel did not reply, he simply waved a hand, freezing Kyouka on the spot. Zeref's mouth fell agape. He couldn't believe it was really that easy. I mean surely Gray could have frozen her the same way if it was so simple.

"How id you oo that?!" Zeref tried to ask. He was surprised to find he was still having trouble speaking, and he did noted that his hearing was still greatly intensified.

Invel gave him an amused look. "She didn't know that I am an ice mage, so she wasn't wary of a freezing attack. Also, my ice is strong. I am a pure ice mage."

"If you ook her outh in un hith, then why arn my enses ack to ormal?"

"She isn't dead yet." Invel replied simply. "However, she should suffocate in a short while, but let's wait here to make sure."

So Zeref gritted his teeth and prepared to wait it out. Suddenly, Happy flew down next to Zeref and tackled him in a hug, apparently forgetting about the fire mage's heightened pain, and hearing, as he cried, "I was so worried about you!"

Zeref held back a wince. "I-I'm fine, ut you eed to go get Endy."

"Aye!" Happy agreed. The Exceed quickly let go of his friend and rushed off to get the healer.

After a while, Zeref finally felt the numbness begin to fade and he immediately made a B line towards his friend, despite fumbling every other step.

"Oi, Gray! Talk to me!" Zeref begged as he slumped down next to him.

Gray's eyes flickered open, but as soon as he met Zeref's eyes, the ice mage instantly looked away.

"Wendy will be here really soon." Zeref promised.

"...I'm fine." Gray rasped.

Zeref looked at him, flabbergasted. "No, no you are not!"

Gray attempted to stand up, but hissed in pain.

"See?!" Zeref shouted. "You are clearly _not_ fine!"

Gray still wouldn't meet Zeref's eyes as he snapped, "Just leave me alone, okay?!"

The fire mage was taken aback by his friend's attitude and he calmly asked, "...Hey Gray, what's wrong? Besides the injuries, I mean."

"Nothing…" Gray muttered. "Let's just to back to the ship."

"Gray…" Zeref started.

"Honestly, I'll be fine." Gray said, keeping his eyes glued to the ground.

Just as he was going to respond, Zeref heard Happy's voice ring throughout the air. "Zeeerreeef! I'm baaack!"

The fire mage gave Gray a look before he turned around to greet his friends as they landed. "You came quick, thanks."

"Of course!" Wendy said, as she hurried to check on him.

"I'm fine." Zeref assured. "It's really Gray who needs medical attention."

"R-Right!" Wendy agreed, rushing to the ice mage.

Gray tried to speak. "I don't-"

"You are going to let Wendy heal you!" Zeref snapped, whipping back to face Gray.

Gray didn't respond, but he didn't put up a fight either. Zeref sighed in relief, but he knew whatever was bothering his friend was far from gone.

Suddenly, Invel spoke up. "Seeing as you seem to be functioning normally, I can assume the demon is dead. Let's head back to the ship."

"Give Wendy the time she needs to heal them!" Carla demanded.

"I'm heading back now then." Invel responded, turning to leave.

"Good riddance." Happy muttered, as the man walked away.

"Yeah," Zeref quietly agreed. "He's a real piece of work."

* * *

Erza continued her full frontal assault on Tempester. Blow after blow doing less damage than she would have liked; she noted that he had strong regenerative abilities.

However, it had been a long battle and she was ready to deliver what would hopefully be a finishing blow. The redhead equipped into her Armadura Fairy armor and launched forward, striking him down with her two blades.

Tempester finally collapsed to the floor and he muttered. "I did not think any normal human could stand up to us Etherious in a fair fight...However, I will make sure to take you all to hell when I die."

Suddenly, Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs, in a panic. "ERZA! GET HIM INTO THE WATER!"

The urgency in his voice left no room for doubt, Erza swiftly grabbed the demon by the arm. Any attempt to struggle was futile as he was thrust into the water.

The redhead turned back to Natsu and asked, "Why?"

Natsu sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. "I don't know...it's like I suddenly had a flash of knowledge enter my mind. That demon was made to unleash bane particles upon death."

Lucy looked at him worriedly and Natsu frowned, his face scrunching up into an unreadable expression.

Erza's eyes widened in shock and she ran to the edge of the ship. The water was almost pitch black, it was severely contaminated.

"Neither of you are to touch the water!" Erza instructed.

"Right." Natsu agreed.

Footsteps landed on the deck and the three whipped around in surprise.

"Invel? Where are the others?" Natsu asked.

"The demon is dead." He replied plainly. "The others were taking too long. The ice mage needs healing."

"Is he okay?" Natsu asked worriedly.

Invel looked as if he was pondering the question for a second, before he said, "Probably not."

"What does that mean?!" Natsu shouted angrily.

Invel sighed. "Don't worry, physically he's fine. Now I'm going to get us away from their headquarters."

As Invel entered the cabin, to go to the control room, Natsu grumbled, "Confusing bastard."

Lucy gave him a sidelong glance. "Don't worry, Zeref and the others will make sure he's okay."

Natsu seemed to withdraw all of the sudden. "...Yeah."

"We can go to them if you want." Lucy suggested.

Natsu shook his head. "Not right now. I'll wait for them to come back."

* * *

After Wendy had finally healed the ice mage, Gray asked to have a moment of privacy. A request to which, Zeref was surprised, considering he just wanted to be left alone earlier.

Gray's hands curled into fists as he began to speak, still not meeting the dragon slayers eyes. "When we get back to the ship, I need the book of E.N.D. back."

Zeref tensed up. He knew that this conversation would come back soon, but before he could speak, Gray kicked the ground furiously, his voice shaky as he shouted, " _Fuck!_ "

The fire mage was caught completely off guard by Gray's sudden anger. Though he promptly decided that it had to have something to do with Kyouka and this made Zeref's hate bubble to the surface as well.

Suddenly Gray snarled, "I'm going to kill, no rip apart, _all_ of Natsu's demons! I can't-" The ice maged paused for a second, almost shaking in fury. "I can't believe I agreed to traveling with that _monster!_ "

Zeref didn't quite know what to feel. Natsu's creations had ended up doing some unspeakably horrible things, including what occurred today, but he still didn't think he could ever think of Natsu as a monster. And there was also the slim possibility he, himself, had actually been the one who created the demons, but even without that possibility, he was still one of those creations.

 _This is your fault then._

 _That's kind of a stretch, isn't it?_

Gray seemed to shrink all of the sudden. "...but I'm so damn weak...I mean, I gave up!"

 _You're just adding to his burden._

"Gray…" Zeref choked out.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that." Gray said quickly.

"It's okay, I understand." Zeref tried to reassure. "I couldn't do anything either."

"No...I mean, how am I supposed to kill E.N.D. if I couldn't even take down a demon below him?"

 _You're actually feeling fear towards him? He doesn't know, you're a horrible friend._

"He's just a book right now." Zeref said cautiously.

"...That's why I'll need it."

"We-we still need to talk to Natsu first." Zeref reminded him.

Gray scowled. "I can't understand how you've been so tolerant of him."

"He's," _a good person._ Zeref wanted to say, but he wouldn't in this situation. Not when Natsu's creations had been causing Gray so much pain. "I can't blame him since there is a chance he isn't really the one responsible."

It took a second to register what he meant, before Gray looked at Zeref with an almost amused expression as he scoffed, "You have nothing to do with the dark wizard. He's just roped you in with his doubts and whatever happened to Lucy."

Zeref felt his stomach drop, as he was basically drowning in the irony of the first statement.

 _When are you going to tell him the truth?_

 _Probably soon._

 _Whatever you say._

"...Yeah." Zeref said.

"Hey, you two!" Carla shouted from further away. The two friends turned towards the two Exceeds, Wendy no longer there, as she continued. "I've already taken Wendy back to the ship! Let's go!"

"Carla…" Happy muttered nervously.

"Alright," Zeref said. "Let's talk about this with Natsu."

Gray scowled, but relented. "Fine."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _So if anyone is curious as to why the Fairy Tail members aren't nearly as up to the task of fighting as you would think they would be, here's why: They haven't had their second origins unleashed yet. Natsu is fairly powerful, but that's because he has the magic power of Zeref and, you know, he did a bunch of surprise attacks lol. Hope that cleared up any possible confusion._


	29. Ancient Book (Rewritten Ch 1-5)

**So, this isn't a new chapter (sorry). This is a rewritten version of chapters one through five. I'll be talking more about this at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

The Fairytail guild hall was as hectic as usual. Gray was fighting Natsu, and Erza's attempt to stay out of the brawl was about to come to an end, seeing as how she had been hit in the face by a table. However, just as the redhead had stood up, Levy, Jet, and Droy, hurried through the doors of the guild hall.

"Everyone! Look what we got from our job!" Levy said, her eyes glimmering with excitement.

Practically everyone swarmed Levy, it wasn't so often that she was _this_ excited. They watched as Levy pulled out a large old book from her bag and delicately placed it on one of the tables.

"It's a book," Natsu said, giving Levy a look that oozed disappointment.

"Don't be rude!" Lucy whispered, smacking the pinkett's arm. "So. . ." Lucy started, turning her attention to Levy. "What's it about?"

"I don't know yet!" Levy said, the anticipation practically rolling off of her.

"Then why'd you call us over here as if it was the most important thing in the world?" Gray questioned.

"I wanted to open it with you guys!" Levy exclaimed, smiling. "I mean, something this old is such a rare find!"

Erza smiled warmly at the kind gesture.

Levy seemingly couldn't take the wait any longer and flipped open the musty book. She quickly skimmed it and Lucy sighed in disappointment as she watched. "It's not even a finished book."

"That's a let down," Happy said, dispirited.

"No, it's not," Levy countered. "According to our employer, this book was written by an ancient wizard. However, he was unable to finish writing it because our employer's ancestor stole it."

"Which ancient wizard was it?" Erza asked.

"I don't know. Neither did my employer. The wizard never had a chance to put his name on it." Levy explained. "But that doesn't matter, ancient books like these can have very interesting information. I figured you'd guys would want to see if it was a really good find. Now, let's find out, shall we?"

Without waiting for an answer, Levy pulled her wind-reader glasses out of her bag and put them on; she quickly got absorbed in the reading.

After a minute, Lucy asked, "What does it say?"

"Well it appears to be a spell," Levy said thoughtfully.

"No way! The whole book?!" Natsu asked in disbelief.

"Of course not, idiot," Gray scoffed.

Natsu growled at him.

"So, anyway, what can it do?" Erza inquired.

"Well, I think it's some sort of teleportation spell," Levy said carefully. "It _is_ in our language, but it's written in an older tongue that's kind of choppy- Wait! Here! It says here that it can switch places with anyone of your choosing!"

A devilish grin spread across Happy and Natsu's faces. "That would be such an awesome prank!"

Lucy facepalmed, groaning, "Don't be idiots!"

Levy giggled, but continued along. "It seems like the spell is finished, but the explanation and possible complications are missing."

"So. . . what does that mean?" asked Gajeel, confused.

"It means that the effects of the spell are unknown. It doesn't say what the range of the spell is, how you choose who to switch with, or anything else," Levy explained.

"That is important," Erza agreed.

Natsu picked up the book and looked at carefully before grinning again. "Whatever! I still think it would make an awesome prank!"

Lucy snatched the book out of his hands and held it tightly to her chest. "Were you even listening?! The spell could be dangerous!"

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu grumbled.

"Do you think the spell will even work?" Wendy asked.

"Hmm, I don't know," Levy said honestly.

"Well, how could it be dangerous then?" Gajeel asked. "I mean if it's just a teleportation spell, the worst that'll happen is someone getting lost and that we might have to beat up the person who appears here."

Levy looked at the book warily. "From the information we have, that's true, but I don't know. . ."

"Well, let's just try it then!" Natsu exclaimed, yanking the old text out of Lucy's arms.

"What are you doing?!" Lucy yelped.

Natsu flipped through the pages until, from over his shoulder, Happy pointed out what looked like a spell.

"Here I go!" Natsu said.

"Natsu, that might not be a good idea," Levy warned nervously.

Gray smirked. "Just let him screw himself over, he'll be fine."

Although not appreciating Gray's comment, Natsu was happy that Gray got Levy off his back. He promptly began to recite the spell. "Switched with any shall thou be. . . foe or not, none shall it matter. For thou shall earn final freedom as they switch thy own place."

"That sounded _really_ stupid," Gray snorted.

"Shut-!" Natsu was cut off as everything went dark.

The Dragon Slayer stood in a dark, void-like space.

"Uh. . . Anyone out there?" Natsu hollered, his voice echoing around him.

As if answering him, a man clothed in black seemed to form out of the shadows.

Natsu visibly started. "Who are you?" he asked sharply.

The man took a sharp breath and tears began to form, quickly cascading down his cheeks.

Natsu took a step back in shock before he growled warily. "Again, who the hell are you?!"

"Natsu...I can't believe how much you've grown," the man whispered.

"If you aren't going to talk sense I'm gonna beat the answer outta you!" Natsu shouted, before running at the man with full force.

The man didn't react to the incoming attack. "Why did it have to be you, of all people, to activate that spell?"

The tears continued to stream down his face even after natsu hit him full force. "I hope you will be able to forgive me, Natsu. . ."

Without prompting, a brilliant white light started to fill the void.

"What's going on?!" Natsu bellowed.

The man did not respond to his question, but spoke one last time before the light enveloped them. "Goodbye for now, Natsu."

* * *

A lukewarm wind blew across the island, birds squawking loudly overhead.

Natsu opened his eyes and groaned. He felt bark against his back and discovered that he was lying against a tree on a hillside.

"Where am I?" He asked groggily.

Suddenly, the pinkett's face lit up with realization. "That's right! The spell! And that weirdo in the black robes!"

Natsu stood up and got ready to find his bearings. He had just headed off down the hillside, when he tripped over his clothes; the dragon slayer was sent flying down the hill and he smashed into an old oak at the bottom.

"Oww. . ." Natsu groaned, holding his forehead in his palm to stave off the eminent headache. "What the hell did that happen for?" he muttered.

Natsu glared down at his clothes before jerking in surprise. They weren't his, that was for sure. They did _not_ suit him at all. They were all black, with yellow-gold highlights. They were also partially covered by a large white sash. The last item he noticed being a silver locket around his neck.

Annoyed, but now very curious, the pinkette took the locket off and snapped it open, figuring he might as well see what's inside.

Natsu was more than a little shocked, to say the least. Inside, there was a picture of what looked like a much younger version of him, standing right next to a little black haired boy who looked oddly familiar.

It took Natsu a minute of thought before he could figure it out, but his face eventually lit up triumphantly.

"That kid looks like the guy from earlier!" Natsu announced.

But then the dragon slayer frowned. He had no idea who the guy was though, let alone why there a picture of the two of them in a locket. After attempting to think for a bit and still having no idea, Natsu just shrugged and put it back on; he figured it was probably important.

With a grunt, Natsu stood up. Time to figure out where we was.

* * *

Back at the guild Natsu's presence was now filled by that of a different man; one who bared a resemblance to the pinkett.

"Well, that was a dud," Happy sighed in disappointment. "Zeref and I could have pulled some awesome pranks if it'd worked."

"Levy did say that the book wasn't complete," Erza reminded him. "Besides, you two shouldn't have tried that in the first place. You know where reading random spells has gotten us before."

"I didn't see _you_ didn't try and stop us," Happy muttered mutinously.

"Wait a second!" Lucy said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Please tell me you didn't just say Zeref, as in the Black Wizard Zeref."

"What are you talking about?" an unfamiliar voice chirped.

Lucy whipped around towards the sound. Behind her stood a man with smooth, ink black hair and eyes. A confused look was written across his face. But that wasn't the problem. The man was wearing Natsu's clothes, not to mention that he had the same guild mark.

"Who are you?" Lucy demanded, wary surprise evident on her face.

"It's me Zeref, duh," the man stated, giving her a baffled look.

"She's finally lost it!" Happy wailed.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Levy asked worriedly.

Lucy shocked gaze sharpened into a glare, nervous sweat rolling down her face. At this point the confusion on the 'Zeref''s face began to change to horror.

"Lucy, do you seriously not remember me?" he asked, anxiously.

"Why would I remember someone I've never met?!" Lucy snapped. "And why are the rest of you all so calm about this?!"

"Never met. . .?" Zeref echoed.

"Lucy what do you mean? What are we 'so calm' about?" Erza asked cautiously.

"About Natsu disappearing!" Lucy shouted, waving her arms in the air. "And about Zeref, of all people, wearing _his_ clothes and donning _his_ guild mark!"

Practically everyone yelped in unison. "Natsu?!"

Lucy let out a premature sigh of relief.

"As in the _Dark Wizard Natsu_?!" Gray shouted.

A wave a horror and disbelief crashed over Lucy and she stumbled backwatds. "Please tell me you're joking," Lucy whispered.

Everyone exchanged concerned looks.

"Lucy?" Happy asked.

Zeref reached over to touch her shoulder, but she violently swatted his hand away, causing the mage to flinch.

"Get away from me!" She shouted, tears welling up in her eyes.

"How could all of you just _forget_ Natsu?!" Lucy cried. "I'm sure he's somewhere out there, confused and worried. So you _cannot_ just tell me you've forgotten him!"

Everyone stared at Lucy, stunned. They didn't know what to do. She had been chatting with them happily up until a minute ago.

"The spell must have affected Lucy somehow," Levy suggested with worry. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"It didn't!" Lucy insisted. "You guys may not remember Natsu, but I do and I _will_ find him!"

Wiping away her tears, Lucy headed for the door.

"Someone stop her!" Levy shouted.

Lucy rounded on them. "Don't even _think_ about it! Like I said, I will find Natsu and if I can't find him, he will find us!"

With that, the blonde marched out the door, slamming it behind her and leaving everyone speechless.

* * *

 _A dark haired man sat alone in the woods, lightly smiling to himself. Soon he would be okay again._

 _It was quiet and peaceful in the forest, but soon he began to feel a faint magical energy. The man wasn't worried about his safety though._

 _He felt the presence grow larger, but he continued to work on his book, uncaring._

 _As he somewhat expected, a man jumped him from behind._

 _Before the man could tell him to go away, the man knocked him unconscious with one swift blow to the back of his head._

 _The assailant searched the dark haired man for any valuables, finding only a silver necklace around his neck along with the book he saw that the man had been writing._

 _The man checked the locket, seeing a picture of two boys, one was obviously the man before him. The thief looked at the man softly and put the locket back, family was important to him, despite his unlawful job._

 _He picked up the book and flipped through it, realizing that it was a spell book. He figured it could fetch a pretty good price on the market._

* * *

Natsu was trekking through the woods when he finally noticed something deeply important to him was missing.

"Wait! Where's my scarf?!" Natsu shouted frantically. "My other clothes are gone too, maybe its with them. But, dammit, where are they?! The guild?!"

Natsu's face promptly scrunched up in disquiet.

 _The guild. . ._ _I hope Fairy Tail isn't too concerned. What if the spell didn't only affect me? I hope they're okay._

Suddenly, the dragon slayer felt as though his breath was knocked out of him. Magic began to pulse from his body and he felt a new pressure rapidly building inside of him. It was all happening so fast and in only a matter of seconds a wave of magic had released from him, sweeping across the ground. Natsu consequently collapsed onto the grass below.

 _What was_ that _?_

It took Natsu a minute before he sat up and realized that everything in his general vicinity was dead, very dead.

"What the _hell_?" Natsu muttered in stunned horror. "Did I do that?" Frustration abruptly bubbled up inside him. "Dammit! I can't figure this out on my own. I have to find my friends." Though, now he wasn't quite sure if he actually should. If that was him, he was dangerous right now.

"Hello," a girl's voice unexpectedly said. However, it couldn't really be called a voice. Natsu just _knew that_ someone had said it.

"Who's there?" Natsu demanded.

"My name is Mavis Vermillion," the voice 'said'.

 _I'm sure I've heard that name before._ Natsu cursed his forgetfulness.

"Can you tell me where we are?" Natsu asked.

"This is Tenrou island," 'Mavis' explained with a sad tone.

"What?! No way!" Natsu exclaimed, his eyes brightening. "Luck's on my side! My friends will be coming here soon!"

Natsu felt Mavis stare at her in surprise.

The pinkette suddenly let out a long whine. "But that means I won't be able to participate in the S-Class trial! Gray had better not win!"

"What friends are you talking about?" Mavis inquired.

"The Fairy Tail guild!" Natsu proclaimed with a grin. "All of them are coming here for the S-Class trial! I'm pretty sure it's in a week!"

"Fairy Tail?!" Mavis asked, her surprise evident.

"Yep! Something wrong?" Natsu asked, cocking his head to the side.

The girl just gazed at him worriedly.

* * *

Lucy had decided that she needed to take action in order to find Natsu. She'd decided to check every hotspot for gossip that she could. The blonde sighed, she was a ways through her search as she entered her seventh bar of the day. It was already sundown too.

"Did you guys hear about the S-Class trial for Fairy Tail! It's happening pretty soon!"

Lucy sighed again. Makarov had already announced who was going and she'd heard about it at least eight different times today.

"You know I heard there's something weird going on at the island."

"I mean it is a guild island."

Lucy grabbed a drink and sat down at a nearby table, their conversation luckily beginning to catch her attention.

"No, I mean one of my friends told me that a dark guild is headed for it!

"You do not have a friend with dark guild connections."

"I do to!"

"Yeah right."

"Oh, come on!"

 _Well, it's not much of a lead, but it's better than nothing. I'll have to go check it out, at the very least._

Lucy quickly chugged her drink before heading out. She had to think of a way to get to the island, figuring the master wouldn't just let her go to watch.

The blonde was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone groan. She turned to investigate, only to end up sighing in exasperation when she who is was.

Cana was definitely trashed.

* * *

"But you _can't_ be in Fairy Tail!" Mavis insisted.

"Why not?!" Natsu asked indignantly. "I have the guild mark!"

Natsu tried to pull up his sleeve, but the cuff was tight and it was turning out to be a hassle. Eventually he got so fed up with it that he just ripped it off. The dragon slayer gawked at his arm in disbelief. There wasn't a guild mark.

"What the hell?!" Natsu shouted, profoundly upset.

"Like I said," Mavis continued. "You just _cannot_ be in Fairy Tail. Only people with the guild mark can see me and I know you can't."

 _This has to be some stupid joke! How dare someone take it off?!_

"Well, maybe I _don't_ have it right now, but I'm still a member!" Natsu huffed.

He was going to _kill_ whoever took it off!

"Wait a second," Natsu said, having a sudden realization. "Why can only Fairy Tail members see you?"

"I'm Fairy Tail's first master." Mavis explained.

"What?! No way!" Natsu exclaimed. "How am I talking to you then?!"

Mavis gave him an unseen smile. "I'm an apparition."

* * *

Lucy practically had to drag Cana to her apartment, where she had done her best to help the brunette sober up.

"Are you really okay?"

Even if Lucy was still agitated by her friends not recalling Natsu, that didn't mean she would ever stop worrying for them.

"I'm fine," Cana said softly.

Lucy sat down next to the brunette. "You can tell me what's wrong, Cana."

Cana lt out a defeated sigh. "...I'm seriously thinking about quitting the guild."

"Why?!" Lucy demanded, worry filling her voice. "What's wrong?!"

Cana looked at the ground as she delved into her story.

* * *

Natsu was about to reply to Mavis, but the earlier pressure returned from nowhere for a vicious comeback. Natsu exhaled as he felt another wave of magic begin to pulse inside his body; he once again, fell to the ground. He felt Mavis' eyes on him as he waited until the wave eventually released.

The pinkette shivered as he began to sit up, he felt as if the night wind was blowing through him. It suddenly hit him. He was _cold_. Natsu didn't get cold, at least not from some stupid wind. After all, he was a Fire Dragon Slayer. However, now that Natsu thought about it, he realized he hadn't used any of his magic since his arrival.

"Well, time for some fire!" Natsu promptly announced.

Natsu swiftly attempted to summon the element with his fist, but nothing happened. Natsu tried again with no result.

"Why won't my magic work?!" Natsu demanded.

"It's probable that you don't have control," Mavis theorized.

"What do you mean?!" Natsu questioned hotly.

"You say you're part of Fairy Tail, so it's possible you remember other magic instead of your own. You don't know remember how to use it and you're naturally repressing your magic power to protect yourself and others," Mavis clairfied.

Natsu let out a low growl. " _My_ magic is Fire Dragon Slayer magic. I haven't learned any other type."

Mavis gave him a worried look, but sighed in resignation. "To get 'your' magic back, why don't you start by gaining control of the magic you have now?"

"You mean the painful waves of whatever magic that I keep having?" Natsu asked in confusion.

"No," Mavis replied, shaking her head. "That is Death Predation, which can only be controlled by changing how much you value life."

"Huh?" Natsu asked.

"Never mind. I was talking about the magic abilities you have, you should be capable of using almost all of the Black Arts," Mavis explained.

"You mean I can use Black Magic?" Natsu asked, not liking the sound of that.

"Correct, for example I've seen you disappear and then reappear in another location," Mavis elucidated.

"No way! That's awesome!" Natsu said excitedly, forgetting about the implications of such an ability. "How do I do it?"

"Unfortunately, I myself do not know how to do it. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to try random stuff until I get it," Natsu decided.

The pinkette ignorantly shouted all the obvious things that came to his mind; 'Teleport!' and 'Move me!' were among them.

After what seemed like forever, Natsu sighed in frustration. "I give uuuup!"

"Why don't you try to clear your head?" Mavis suggested, amusement in her voice.

"Fiiiine," Natsu agreed begrudgingly.

"The woods here are really nice," Mavis informed him. "You should go explore."

"Oh!" Natsu said, his eyes lighting up. "Okay!"

The dragon slayer excitedly ran off in a random direction. After all, getting a layout of the island could be great if he was still able to compete in the S-Class trial.

He had been able to explore for a good thirty minutes when Natsu's ears were graced with hearing an ear splitting roar. The pinkette snapped his head in the direction of the noise and grinned; realizing that it was a monstrously huge creature. With fangs. He couldn't be happier.

That was. . . until he remembered his magic was incapacitated. Shit.

Natsu scrambled for his life as the creature began to gain on him. The pinkette took the 'ample' time to whine to himself. _Dammit! I wish I was back at the clearing and not about to be eaten!_

He remembered how peaceful it had felt there, well at least before he had killed it. There had been a strange scent of lavender and oak. It had an old musty smell to it too.

And then suddenly Natsu was tripping over a root and sent face planting into the ground. The pinkette assumed he was pretty much fucked until he realized that lack of giant footsteps and roaring chasing after him, and he looked up.

It was the damn clearing.

Natsu felt a triumphant smirk stretch across his face. It could only be a matter of time before he got his own magic back.

He felt Mavis give him an a entertained smile.

* * *

Happy looked down at Zeref, the latter sporting a dejected look on his face.

"You gonna be okay?" Happy asked quietly.

It had been a day since Lucy's outburst and Zeref still couldn't quite wrap his head around what had happened.

"I think so," Zeref sighed.

Lucy had been one of his best friends ever since he got her into Fairy Tail. And he didn't have a clue as to why she was acting so bizarre. It had to have been the spell, but then why did it affect Lucy and not him? And why did it mess with her memory instead of just having her switch places with someone?

"I think it might have something to do with the spell," Happy said, mirroring Zeref's thoughts. "She started acting weird right after we used that spell."

"I believe you're right, Happy, but we don't have any clue where she went after she ran off. We'll most likely need her here to fix it," Zeref said.

"It's morning, she's probably in her apartment," Happy reminded him.

"I don't know. . . but it wouldn't hurt to check," Zeref said, jumping up from his couch. He found it hard to believe that, after her declaration to find Natsu, she would just go back to her apartment.

"Well, if she is there, should I do the talking?" Happy asked quietly.

Zeref nodded solemnly. "Yeah, but I'm going to stay near by."

"Alright," Happy agreed.

As the duo arrived, Happy flew up and looked inside Lucy's window. He spotted the blonde along with what looked like a couple of beer cans. He was pretty sure that Lucy had told him she was a lightweight. Maybe someone else was over? However, the Exceed didn't see anyone else.

Shrugging, Happy opened the window and flew over to shake the celestial mage awake.

As he did, Lucy muttered, "Natsu. . . told you not to break in. . ."

Happy felt dismayed as he continued to wake her up. When he finally got Lucy to open her eyes, they widened and she crowed, "Happy!"

Surprisingly, Lucy proceeded to squeeze her friend into a suffocating hug.

"Luc—y. . . can't breath," Happy choked out.

The blonde quickly let up. "I'm sorry Happy I just missed you. It's only been a day, but I was so mean to all of you. It's not your fault that you don't remember Natsu."

"Lucy. . ." Happy started slowly. "I wanted to talk about this. . . Natsu guy."

Happy hoped that maybe some information could help them figure out exactly what had happened.

"Oh," Lucy said, a little startled. "Alright, if you want."

Happy nodded and the blonde proceeded to describe her friend.

"Well he usually wears what. . . Zeref. . . was wearing yesterday. They have pretty similar facial structure too, but Natsu has pink hair that stands up all spiky," Lucy explained, raising her hands to her head for effect. "He's also kinda tan."

"What's his personality like?" Happy asked.

"Oh! Well, I'd have to say that Natsu is pretty impulsive, reckless, carefree and stupid. . . he does idiotic things pretty often actually," Lucy said, letting out an exasperated laugh. "But he always pulls through in a bad situation. Oh and he loves fighting! He and Gray are always going at it, and during battles and his plans are. . . well. . . well at least they work most of the time."

Happy grimaced. What she said vaguely reminded him of Zeref. The exceeded wanted to know why Natsu was similar to his friend. "What magic does he use?"

"He uses Fire Dragon Slayer magic," Lucy told him.

Happy felt his jaw drop in disbelief. "There's no way that's possible!"

Lucy gave him a funny look. "Wendy was raised by Grandeeney and taught Sky Dragon Slayer magic and Natsu was raised by Igneel and Fire Dragon Slayer magic. Why would it be impossible?"

"Lucy, Zeref was raised by Igneel!" Happy explained.

The blonde's eyes widened in shock, before she frowned, muttering, "I guess I should have expected that. . ."

Happy felt his eyes water. "Lucy, do you _really_ not remember Zeref?"

Lucy looked at the exceed softly. "I'm sorry Happy, but I really don't. I'd never met Zeref before yesterday. . . And I know that you all don't remember Natsu the same way."

Happy started to cry and Lucy hugged him again. He knew that Zeref was outside, listening to every, single word. It hurt to think how much harder all of this must be for his friend.

* * *

It was after three days, when Natsu got nicked by an animal during hunting, that he saw a wound heal on its own. It was cool, but with everything else going on, he was wise to be concerned.

"Oi Mavis," Natsu called out. "Do you know why my injury disappeared?"

The Pinkett felt her bright presence walk up behind him. "You're immortal."

". . . What?" Natsu asked, giving her a look of utmost disbelief. "I'm pretty sure I'm not immortal."

"You are," Mavis asserted.

"Prove it," Natsu demanded.

"You literally just watched your own body regenerate itself," Mavis sighed. "It's part of a curse you have."

"Wait, a curse?" Natsu questioned, confused.

"It's called the Curse of Contradictions," Mavis explained. "It's what causing Black Magic to pulse out from you."

"The waves that kill stuff?" Natsu asked. "Why would I have a curse like that?"

"I don't know, but I assume there are multiple ways you could have gotten it," Mavis replied.

"Well then, how do I get rid of it?" Natsu huffed.

Mavis shook her head. "As far as I know, there isn't a way to, and you can't kill yourself either. I'm sorry."

"Why would I want to kill myself?" Natsu snorted.

"Because your curse kills everything you care about," Mavis explained softly, shifting her feet. "And you have to live forever. . ."

Natsu's brow furrowed in concern. "Would that mean I'd be a danger to my friends?"

"Unfortunately, that is the case."

"Well how do I not hurt them then?" Natsu asked.

"You'd have to stop seeing them as purely loved ones, as valued lives," Mavis explained.

"Well I can't do that!" Natsu huffed, sifting down. "Maybe it's a bad idea for them to find me, at least for now."

". . . This curse is about balance. If you can balance your feelings, your love with hate, your care with ill will, then you will be able to keep the curse under control."

"Hmm. . . Well the ice block is annoying and Erza is pretty violent towards me. . ."

Mavis shook her head and her eyes softened. "That isn't hate Natsu."

Natsu sighed. "I don't know then."

Mavis apologized again. "I'm sorry."

"No, none of this is your fault. I'm the one who chose to actually read that damn spell, and I'm pretty sure _this_ is all that's fault," Natsu sighed.

"Spell?" Mavis asked, perking up.

"I didn't tell you?" Natsu asked, surprised. "Whoops."

"What spell did you read?" Mavis briskly quickly.

"Well I don't remember it exactly, but it was I think a teleportation spell. It said something 'bout switching places, and then I met this guy with black hair and woke up here," Natsu explained briefly.

Mavis' eyes widened in surprise. "Your memory! It must have been switched with The Dark Wizard!"

Natsu felt his mouth go agape. "Wait, The Dark Wizard?! As in you're saying that I've switched places with _Zeref?!_ "

Mavis blinked in bemusement at the name. ". . .Yes?"

* * *

 **Well, I'm not dead (if you were wondering). After my notice on not posting frequently, 'cause of school and all that, I really lost interest in Fairy Tail (Mashima disappointed me too many times!), among other issues. This includes thinking that most of my writing in this story is absolute cringe trash. That caused me to be hella stressed out by even the thought of working on it. So, as a solution I've been working on rewriting the whole 215 pages, but it's taking awhile—I've got 33 pages done, not a lot, trust me I know. I also have been focusing more on improving my art and that takes up like 5 hours of my free time a day—I haven't even had time to work on the stories that I enjoy (I'm really into One Piece now and I have way too many docs just filled with angst). And I get that this must be pretty disappointing (especially since I'm only giving you 4,900 words—who knew that was 16 pages, yikes.) and I'm sorry, but I felt like I really oughta put something up for anyone who's left; I also want to say that, yes, I haven't abandoned this work, it's just not my favorite, nor an enjoyable thing to work on like it used to be.**

 **One last thing, I'm not going to delete the original chapters, just incase some of you will enjoy the original version more (Btw in the rewritten version all the key plot points will be the same).**

 **Hope you have a good evening, morning or whatever time ~FairyA.**


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